Ancient engraving style adorns art guns in Wielgus Collection exhibition

Raymond Wielgus (1920 – 2010), sculptor and collector of ethnographic art, retired in 1970, with his wife and coworker, Laura. They moved from Chicago to Tucson where Wielgus was inspired to improve his Colt Diamondback revolver stylistically. This motivation sparked a 34-year process of transforming firearms into sculpture.

The Cody Firearms Museum is proud to present the art guns of Raymond Wielgus in an exhibition titled Steel Sculptures: Engraving individuality from mass production. Within this collection are original and reproduction firearms created by manufacturers such as Colt, Smith and Wesson, and Remington—all innovators and artists in their own right.

Wielgus enhanced the historicity of these mass-produced artifacts. In this collection, visitors can see an embellished full size and miniature version of the grandfather of Winchester’s lever action rifles, the Volcanic pistol. In addition to notable western firearms, they can view accented military arms like the Colt Model 1860 Army Revolver. Additionally, visitors can witness beautified firearms, like the Smith and Wesson Ladysmith that represents the soaring popularity of firearms among women.

The entire collection is influenced by popular engravings on western firearms and Wielgus’s passion for the ethnographic art of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. He fused these two styles into one sculptural form through the engraving, carving and inlaying procedures known as damascening—an art of Ancient Asian origin. Gold and other precious metals were chiseled into steel in striking detail, in order to create embellishments that reflected a lifetime of research and consummate artistry.

The Cody Firearms Museum invites visitors to be inspired by the juxtaposition of traditional firearms engravings with a previously unknown style of splendid embellishment.