The flintlock gun from the Gatchina Palace and Estate Museum was made in Spain in 1751 by Jose Lopez, the famous gunsmith of Madrid. Though the 17th–18th centuries saw decline of the once powerful Spanish Empire, the influence of Spanish gunmakers’ traditions on other countries was still very strong and diversified. The Spanish type flintlock mechanism was very popular in Mediterranean countries — North Africa, Middle East, Turkey, the Balkans and some regions of Italy — while people in European countries especially appreciated Spanish gun barrels. They were heavier than Italian or French ones but they were considered more durable. Spanish barrels of that time had easily recognisable design. There were octagonal at the breech end and round at the muzzle end with a smooth bore, often blued, and several bright gilded marks at the breech end. The most common was the mark with a cross on top of a mountain. Gun barrels from Spain were sold in large amounts to other countries, where people also tried to fake them or imitate their style. The decoration of Spanish guns was austere, especially when compared to the French style, so it was not very popular outside Spain. However, the form of stocks typical for gunsmiths of Madrid and Catalonia were sometimes copied by gunmakers from other countries. At the breech end on the flintlock gun barrel there are two gilded marks. They are oblong with an inscription: “Josh Lo Pes” written in three lines under a crown. The marks are flanked with two rectangular markings with inscriptions “Exe” and “Rez”. Next to each of them there are groups of three marks in the form of a cross and one mark in the form of a flower. Further along the axis of the barrel there is a mark in the form of a hand and a group of four marks in the form of a cross and one mark in the form of a flower. The stock is made of wood. The fore-end runs all the way to the muzzle and is reinforced at the end with a ferrule which, unfortunately, has been lost. The Catalan-style stock has a deep groove on the wrist for a thumb. The barrel bands with slits are held in place with springs built into the fore-end and made in the form of fish.