Nouveavx Desseins D'Arquebvseries
ca. 1705–49
Medium
Engravings
Dimensions
plate 1 (2016.403.1): sheet: 11 1/2 x 9 in. (29.2 x 22.9 cm); plate: 9 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (23.8 x 16.8 cm); plate 2 (2016.403.2): sheet: 11 7/8 x 9 in. (30.2 x 22.9 cm); plate: 9 3/8 x 6 5/8 (23.8 x 16.8 cm); plate 3 (2013.906): 10 1/2 x 7 1/2 in. (26.7 x 19.1 cm); plate 4 (2016.403.3): sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (29.8 x 23.2 cm); plate: 9 1/4 x 6 5/8 in. (23.5 x 16.8 cm); plate 5 (2016.409): sheet: 11 1/2 x 9 in. (29.2 x 22.9 cm); plate: 9 3/8 x 6 5/8 in. (23.8 x 16.8 cm); plate 6 (2016.311): sheet: 11 7/8 x 9 in. (30.16 x 22.86 cm); plate: 9 1/8 x 6 3/8 in. (23.17 x 16.19 cm); plate 7 (2016.403.4): sheet: 12 x 9 in. (30.5 x 22.9 cm); plate: 9 3/8 x 6 3/8 in. (23.8 x 16.2 cm); plate 8 (2016.403.5): sheet: 11 7/8 x 9 1/16 in. (30.2 x 23 cm); plate: 7 7/16 x 5 1/4 in. (18.9 x 13.3 cm); plate 9 (2016.403.5): sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (29.8 x 23.2 cm); plate: 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 in. (18.4 x 13.3 cm); plate 10 (2016.312): sheet: 11 7/8 x 9 1/8 in. (30.16 x 23.17 cm); plate: 8 1/2 x 6 3/8 in. (21.59 x 16.19 cm); plate 11 (2016.403.7): sheet: 11 1/2 x 9 1/4 in. (29.2 x 23.5 cm); plate: 8 7/16 x 6 7/16 in. (21.4 x 16.3 cm); plate 12 (2013.905): 7 1/2 x 9 3/8 in. (19 x 23.8 cm)
Classification
Works on Paper-Engravings
Culture
French, Paris
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
2013.905, .906: Purchase, Bequest of Stephen V. Grancsay, Rogers Fund, Helmut Nickel Gift, and funds from various donors, by exchange, 2013; 2016.311, .312: Purchase, Michael H. Pourfar Gift, 2016; 2016.403.1–.7: Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Gift, 2016; 2016.409: Purchase, Marica F. Vilcek Gift, 2016
Accession Number
2013.905,.906;2016.311,.312,.403.1–.7,.409
Tags
Art Historical Context
These exquisite engravings, titled *Nouveaux Desseins d’Arquebuserie* (“New Designs for Gunsmithing”), were created in Paris between roughly 1705 and 1749 by Gilles Demarteau in collaboration with De Lacollombe. Produced as a series of twelve plates, the works present intricate ornamental patterns intended as models for decorating firearms. Rendered with the precision of copperplate engraving, they capture the elegant curves, scrolling foliage, and delicate figures that transformed functional weapons into objects of refined artistry. In early eighteenth-century France, firearms were not only ...
About the Artist
Gilles Demarteau|De Lacollombe · 1729–1776
Gilles Demarteau the Elder, born on January 19, 1722, in Liège, began his career steeped in the craft of metalwork. The son of a gunsmith, he learned engraving and goldsmithing from his father before moving to Paris around 1748–1750 to join his brother, who worked as a goldsmith for the engraver De Lacollombe, renowned for firearm ornament designs. Demarteau trained in De Lacollombe's workshop as ...