Dutch
Pair of flintlock pistols
c. 1660­70
Ivory and steel
l.: 45.5 cm
George F. Harding Collection, 1982.2324a-b

The flintlock increased the speed of weapon fire. Developed in the early 1600s, the flintlock produced a spark by striking flint against steel. The spark ignited the gunpowder in a musket or pistol, causing it to fire.

These seventeenth-century Dutch pistols were intended as much for show as for protection. The handles of carved ivory are reminders of the wealth brought to Holland by its vast merchant fleet. Ironically, the carved heads wear helmets of armor—which was made obsolete by firearms.