Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau and Pasquale Paoli's Cors - Lot 179

Honoré-Gabriel Riqueti de Mirabeau and Pasquale Paoli's Corsican Campaign. Pair of long flintlock marine pistols with Fitzpatrick chased flat-body locks and flat-body swan-neck hammers. Carved walnut stocks with dogfish caps. All iron fittings, cut-iron counterplates decorated with a central medallion. Small daylight in one basin, cleaning. Total length: 36 cm Irish production, mid-18th century. Expert: Mr. Alban Degrave Historical background: Pierre Bufière was Mirabeau's customary name during the Corsican campaign of 1769, first aboard the Golu before being garrisoned at Vescovato. This episode corresponds in date to the use of the name engraved on the weapon and may justify the presence of a naval weapon due to its presence on the Golu. Mirabeau had several lives before declaring: "Go and tell your master that we are here by the will of the people, and that we shall not be removed except by the power of bayonets", in a letter from Pierre Bufière to his friend Baron de Vioménil, dated June 26, 1769, and published in the Bastia fortnightly Les colonnes de l'aigle corse in 1865. "Yes, Corsica - and this will always be my opinion - is one of those regions that cannot be visited with indifference, nor studied without interest (...).)Everything here recalls those long struggles on the outside, those violent tears on the inside, the character strongly tinged with a hint of ancient stoicism, and that family spirit, which merges with devotion to the country, so that in defending the invaded soil, The Corsican believes he is defending his own home at the same time, whereas in other regions, the inhabitants remain indecisive and irresolute, in the hope that the torrent of invasion will not reach them, the counter, the store, the farm, the château, and that the storm will break elsewhere. The same cannot be said of Corsica, where, thanks to a skillful impulse from Paoli and a more general, more sincere fusion, the Corsican no longer separates his personal cause from that of the country. He would believe himself considerably lessened, if the fatherland were less strong or less respected". Sale at the Blandan auction house, Nancy May 6 1979, by Edmond and François Bailly / Bertrand Lovenbruck, expert : Alban Degrave.