Designs for the Ornament of Swords and Firearms
ca. 1850–60
Medium
Leather, paper, pencil, ink, colored wash
Dimensions
19 x 12 1/2 in. (48.2 x 31.7 cm)
Classification
Works on Paper-Drawings
Culture
French, Paris
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2003
Accession Number
2003.174a–gg
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About the Artist
Louis-François Devisme · 1833–1886
**Louis-François Devisme (1806–1879)** was a masterful Parisian gunsmith and designer whose intricate ornamentation elevated functional arms into works of art. Born in Paris on July 9, 1806, the son of a gunsmith from Versailles, Devisme's early life and formal training remain sparsely documented, though his craft clearly stemmed from familial traditions in arme blanche and firearms production. By...