Combination Flintlock Pistol and Concealed Dagger ca. 1690 Probably by Matteo Cecchi, called Acquafresca This dagger-pistol, remarkable for its delicately chiseled and engraved steel mounts, elegant wire inlay, gracefully modeled stock, and novel design in which the blade is concealed within the stock, counts among the finest Italian combination weapons of the late seventeenth century. It was made by Matteo Cecchi, called Acquafresca (1651–1738) ca. 1690, the most gifted member of the famed Acquafresca family of Acquafresca family resided and worked in the mountain village of Bar

Combination Flintlock Pistol and Concealed Dagger ca. 1690 Probably by Matteo Cecchi, called Acquafresca This dagger-pistol, remarkable for its delicately chiseled and engraved steel mounts, elegant wire inlay, gracefully modeled stock, and novel design in which the blade is concealed within the stock, counts among the finest Italian combination weapons of the late seventeenth century. It was made by Matteo Cecchi, called Acquafresca (1651–1738) ca. 1690, the most gifted member of the famed Acquafresca family of Acquafresca family resided and worked in the mountain village of Bargi, located in the Tosco-Emilian Apennines between Florence and Bologna, over two-hundred kilometers from Brescia, where many of Italy’s most talented gunmakers concentrated for over two centuries. Despite their remote location, the Acquafresca gained the patronage of wealthy aristocratic families and the Medici court in Florence, earning reputations as the finest gunmakers in Italy. Sebastiano Acquafresca (1619–1692), the earliest known member of the family, had five sons, Matteo, Pietro, Stefano, Antonio, Guiseppe Maria, several of whom worked in the trade and likely often collaborated with one was the eldest and most talented of Sebastiano’s sons. His work, identifiable by its combination of deft chiseling, fine engraving, and inventive, personal interpretations of contemporary Northern decorative trends, exhibits remarkable independence from traditional Brescian modes of decoration popular at that time, characterized by high-relief chiseled ornament and intricately pierced steel finely chiseled and engraved lock in The Metropolitan’s collection, dated 1679 and signed only with the surname "Acquafresca," as was typical for guns and locks made by all members of the family, was made by either Sebastiano or Matteo, and is the earliest dated piece by the Acquafresca (acc. no. ).The Museum’s dagger-pistol, signed "Acquafresca" on the lock

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