Italian weaponry can be considered one of the most ornate among European arms during the renaissance and later baroque period. Many workshops were opened in Venice, Milan and Brescia, the latter is considered as a community of the best metalworkers, specialized in chiseling very complicated metalwork such as weapon-parts.
This lock was made in Brescia around 1640-1660 and can be considered as a ‘Patilla miquelet’ lock, a type of flintlock mostly used in Spain, Italy and the Balkan. It distinguishes itself from North European flintlock by the near square shaped hammer which holds a pieces of flint to make a spark which ignites the priming powder in the pan.

This example:
Very well made with moveable, deeply pierced and chiseled parts depicting typical late renaissance mythical creatures. The lock-plate features a lions mask and all other parts are individually chiseled. A very similar type of lock can be seen in The Wallace Collection London, which can be visited below.

Dimensions:
Length: 20cm
Width: 3cm
Hight: 12cm

Condition:
Good, cleaned condition and lost its crisp at some places with a few worn ends lost.
The mechanism functions, the lock is strong and tight.

Comparable examples: The Wallace Collection, acc.nr. A1233

Provenance: Italian Art Market