Plate Two from Nouveavx Desseins D'Arquebvseries

This print is a prime example of French designs for the decoration of firearms in the late rococo style, which set the fashion for luxury arms across Europe at the time. It was created by an enigmatic engraver known only as De Lacollombe and comes from a series of prints that was added to after his death and then published by his better-known pupil Gilles Demarteau (1722–1776) in about 1749. Individual motifs taken from them can be seen on guns made throughout the eighteenth century in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain.

Credit: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2016