The smoke has gone down, the barrel is chilled but the glitter of the gold is still intact. If you really think that it’s the gold etched for life on this 120-bore, three-barrelled flintlock pocket pistol, that’ll make it fetch £25,000-30,000, at the auction at the Bonhams Arms and Armour sale in Knightsbridge, central London, on April 6, than you’re absolutely wrong. In fact, the reason that this historic pistol was associated with Napoleon Bonaparte is enough to do it so.



The antique masterpiece was given to Napoleon by a flamboyant English army officer, Lt Col Thomas Thornton, in 1802 and is believed to be the only weapon ever given to Napoleon by an Englishman. The pistol decked with gold is absolutely fascinating and is embellished by bewitching decorations.



Image Credit: The Times of India [Poor image quality is regretted]

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