A gift from Louis XVI.
The hunting ensemble of Marie Antoinette
Where? Arms collection of the Baumann Foundation
What? Made by the court gunsmiths of Versailles, the Le Page brothers, the hunting enthusiast Louis XVI once gave his wife Marie Antoinette this fine hunting rifle together with a powder flask and a hunting sword, but the queen did not use them often (if at all). But that Marie Antoinette also went hunting is proven. In numerous illustrations she can be seen in a hunting costume.
What is worth a closer look? Apart from the fine technique and particularly sophisticated manufacturing method (the rifle is as light as a feather), the rifle is impressive with its rich decorations such as the silver wire inlays in the riflebutt, gold and silver cut in the steel and a blued barrel.
