Art Institute of Chicago's Stunning Arms

If you are an antique arms and armor lover and you are in Chicago, a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago is an absolute must. Located right along the lakeshore at Grant Park, it is full of beautiful works of art, including world class arms and armor displays. The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection is stunning in both its quality and its diversity. There are suits of armor, swords, and shields evoking the knights of old along with ornate wheellock rifles, flintlock holster pistols, and so much more.

The author personally extends his thanks to Jonathan Tavares, the Amy and Paul Carbone Curator in Applied Arts at the Art Institute of Chicago, for sharing photos of the incredible displays as well as his insights into the collection. Exhibition Photo courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

While their collection is largely secured behind the museum’s glass, Rock Island Auction Company is honored to have the opportunity to bring to auction a limited selection from the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection in the August 2025 Premier. These pieces are being deaccessioned from their collection, all formerly in the George F. Harding Jr. Collection.

The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection is immense, and even more pieces remain behind the scenes for study. Photo courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

The foundation for the extraordinary arms and armor department at the Art Institute of Chicago is the famous George F. Harding Jr. Collection. Mr. Harding was a highly successful Chicago businessman who built his immense collection in the early 20th century when many of the long held private collections came to market for the first time in the turmoil following World War I. In 1927, Harding went so far as to expand his home on Chicago’s South Side with a two story stone turret in order to display his treasures. He continued to expand the collection until his death in 1939. The museum remained open for several decades, until it was torn down. The collection was acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982.

George F. Harding Jr., left, and a photo showing off his collection in his private museum. Photos courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Art Institute of Chicago: Luxurious Pistols of Saxe-Weimar

Grand Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar (1688-1748) was one of the great patrons of fine arms in the early 18th century. Known for his excessive spending and love of hunting, the Duke amassed a considerable collection of fine arms. The outstanding collection at Schloss Ettersburg remained together until it was sold at auction in the 1920s. Among the fine arms in the collection were numerous pairs of beautiful pistols produced by a variety of gunmakers in Continental Europe. Three of these pairs are available in Rock Island Auction Company’s August 2025 Premier Auction from the Art Institute of Chicago. There are also other pieces from Schloss Ettersburg available from the Norman R. Blank Collection.

Lot 290 features an elaborate pair of engraved and gilt Bohemian flintlock holster pistols made for Grand Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar c, 1710-1720.

The c. 1730 pair of pistols below is nearly identical to two other pairs that remain in the Art Institute of Chicago's collection (reference numbers 1982.2383a-b and 1982.2386a-b). Two other pairs were previously sold from Harding's collection, and another pair from the W. Keith Neal Collection was sold by Christie's on Nov. 9, 2000, and noted as “one of a number of similar pair of Ettersburg pistols, originally belonging to garnitures, but the present pair is exceptional in bearing Ernst August I's cipher, and can therefore be listed among his personal weapons." These pistols were all part of hunting garnitures along with a long gun and are believed to have been assembled for the Duke in Ettersburg from parts ordered from Brescia to equip large hunting parties and were maintained in the gun cabinet at Schloss Ettersburg until the collection was sold to E. Kahlert & Sohn of Berlin in 1926-1927.

Lot 1260 features a beautiful pair of silver mounted flintlock pistols made for Grand Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar c. 1740 in Suhl.

Art Institute of Chicago: Wheellocks

Germanic wheelocks were among the most popular antique arms in the art market in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Their more unusual forms, complex lock mechanisms, and often extravagantly decorated stocks caught the eye of many well-to-do collectors, and wheellocks with engraved staghorn along their stocks remain popular fixtures in the world’s leading art museums such as the Art Institute of Chicago. Mr. Harding naturally sought out several ornate examples. Three wheellocks from his collection are available in the auction.

Lot 1257 features a stunning c. 1600 European wheellock rifle with extensive engraved stock inlays. It was remounted with a relief chiseled barrel and another lock in the late 19th century. The rifle was purchased by Mr. Harding from W. H. Fenton in 1925.

Lot 1263 features an early 18th century wheellock rifle by Johann Caspar Rudolph. The flat lock plate features extensive engraving including a stag hunt scene on the rear, Diana with hounds and a putto towards the center, a hunter with a rifle and hound on the dog, and scrollwork, including on the interior. The gilt brass mounts feature additional hunting scenes, scrollwork, and shell designs. The rifle was acquired by Mr. Harding from the collection of Ambrose Monnell (1873-1921).

Wheellocks were the first self-igniting firearms and used a gunlock with a metal wheel under spring tension to generate sparks that ignite gunpowder. They were revolutionary weapons when they were invented in the early 16th century. While various “snaplock” and flintlock firearms were widely available, wheellocks were more complicated and thus more expensive, leaving them to be primarily the hunting arms of the aristocracy, including the most powerful kings of the era. They remained in use well-into the 18th century. As high end arms of the elite, they can be incredibly ornate, and many were carefully maintained by armorers for the arms cabinets of various aristocratic estates.

Lot 3314 features a North German wheellock pistol from c. 1580 that was purchased by Mr. Harding from George L. Maxwell's collection at The Anderson Galleries in 1928. The stock features engraved staghorn and bone overlays with classical figures, hunting scenes, dogs, game animals, and border designs drawn from period prints, including prints by Virgil Solis (1514-1562) of Nuremberg. The pistol was further embellished in the late 19th century, including with beautiful gold damascening.

Art Institute of Chicago: Ornamented Arms

Lot 1268 at first glance appears to be a miniature piano, but opening the lid reveals a pair of engraved and silver mounted percussion pocket pistols with smooth ivory grips.

The Chicago Art Institute's Harding Collection also features a wide variety of other ornamented arms, and Rock Island Auction Company is honored to have several in the upcoming auction. Among them are a fascinating pair of pocket pistols in a case shaped like a piano, two ornamented crossbows, a gold damascened Spanish pistol with pearl grips, a deluxe flintlock carbine from Nicolas-Noël Boutet and the Versailles Manufactory, and a bronze naval gun.

Lot 1270’s beautiful flintlock carbine originates from the Versailles Manufactory led by Directeur Artiste Nicolas-Noël Boutet in the Napoleonic Era in the early 19th century. Fine arms from Versailles remain among the most sought after by collectors of deluxe antique firearms.

Lot 1391 contains a stunning gold damascened Automatica Espanola "Bufalo" pistol with pearl grips.

The ornate pistol in Lot 1391 is based on John Browning’s designs for the Fabrique Nationale Model 1900 and was manufactured c. 1910-1928. Damascene ornamentation dates back centuries and was once used to decorate armor. It remains a specialty of artisans in Toledo and Eibar in Spain. Given its approximate date of production, this pistol may have originally been purchased by Mr. Harding as a sidearm during one of his many trips to Europe, or he may have simply appreciated its artistry.

Big guns add a sense of adventure to an arms collection, and the bronze naval gun from Lot 210 certainly makes a statement. This Victorian-era European naval gun has "1673" among the designs on the barrel along with two guns on carriages, a stack of cannon balls, a coronet over a knight’s helm.

Crossbows date back over a thousand years. They became popular in Europe in the Middle Ages, but they were largely replaced on the battlefield by firearms by the early 16th century. However, crossbows continued to be used for sport right up through the present, never truly fading into obsolescence. Like wheellocks, some of the crossbows used by the aristocracy featured inlaid panels of staghorn engraved with elaborate scenes and various animals.

The sporting crossbow in Lot 1256 was made in the 19th century but was fashioned in the style of the 17th century and displays extensive staghorn inlays engraved with various designs, including many dogs.

Lot 1264 is a beautifully inlaid and engraved European sporting crossbow. This example is Swiss in origin and dates back to c. 1600 and was redecorated in the 19th century with scenes from the story of William Tell.

Art Institute of Chicago: Other Antiques

In addition to ornate arms and armor, George Harding Jr.’s collection contained a wide variety of pieces that peaked his interest. Two of these are featured among the selections we received from the Art Institute of Chicago. The first is Lot 110. What at first appears to be a simple 19th century cane or walking stick contains a pair of hidden weapons. Attached to the handle hidden within the shaft is a six-shot pinfire pepperbox revolver with a stiletto blade. Thieves beware!

Lot 110 contains a deadly surprise.

Lot 223 features a significant model for military firearms collectors: the first widely issued breech loading military rifle and one of the first firearms produced with interchangeable parts, the U.S. Model 1819 Hall rifle. The example from the Art Institute of Chicago is dated 1838. In an era of smoothbore muskets, a breech-loading flintlock rifle was highly advanced. Though they had their faults, Hall rifles and carbines remained in use through multiple conflicts, including the Civil War.

The Model 1819 Hall flintlock rifle in Lot 223 was state of the art in 1819.

Museum-Worthy Guns for Sale

Rock Island Auction Company is pleased to partner with the Art Institute of Chicago to offer the high artistry of these fine European pieces from the museum’s George F. Harding Jr. Collection. These firearms are available after nearly a century in private hands, making this a tremendous opportunity for antique firearms collectors to obtain true rarities.

Select Sources and Further Reading

·The Legacy of George F. Harding, Jr.

· George F. Harding Jr. and His “Castle” by Walter J. Karcheski, Jr.

· Arms and Armor in the Art Institute of Chicago by Walter J. Karcheski, Jr.

· Art Institute of Chicago Harding Collection by Ben Nicholson