janbruinen wrote:Arthus,
I don't say that Belhomme is right but at least it isn't clear. The pictures you have showed are also from the (mid) 19th century so aren't primary sources too. At least I think they are from the series as shown here
http://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/in ... Gustave%22
And to be honest, I wouldn't care if the gendarmes and chevau-leger figures would have musqeton if in reality they did't have them., imho it's just a minor detail (but I'm primarily a wargamer)
greetings
Jan
Hi Jan
Yes, the print I hotlinked isn't a period pic, but a later illustration which I used because I was in a hurry : I needed a visual reference and didn't have the time to sift through my files and look for a proper late C17th depiction. The pic you linked is a contemporary one, however : it is part of a series of engravings by Nicolas Guérard depicting the French army circa 1695 and as such is of invaluable help to us, although it does raise a few questions of its own.
One oddity in that print is the depiction of the musketoon, which actually isn't a musketoon at all : instead of a carbine slung from a shoulder belt, Guérard shows the
Chevau-Léger carabinier armed with what appears to be a dragoon musket, slung barrel up with the stock resting in a boot attached to the saddle and typical of the dragoons. He also shows the same arrangement in another plate depicting the
Gardes du Corps and
Mousquetaires.
This may be a mistake on Guérard's part, though that would be odd as he was a meticulous artist (his line cavalry is invariably depicted wearing the correct shoulder belt and he clearly understood the difference between
chevau-léger and dragoon accoutrements).
Back to the subject at hand, I personally prefer to see the
Chevau-Legers and
Gendarmes de la Garde sculpted without carbines as a/ this is how the majority of the troopers were actually equipped and b/ it differentiates them from the rest of the carbine-equipped Maison du Roi. But ultimately, it's up to Clibinarium to decide what is feasible and what makes economic sense.
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know.