Combined Priming Flask and Wheel-Lock Spanner
Unknown Artist
c. 1600–1650
Medium
horn with brass and steel mounts
Dimensions
18.1 × 5.7 cm
Classification
Arms and Armor
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
Accession Number
1916.43
About this artwork
Early firearms required many tools and accessories for their proper use and maintenance. This clever design fulfilled a dual purpose as a spanner and priming flask. Small containers like this one would hold fine-grain gunpowder used to set off (or prime) the main charge in the barrel. A spanner would be used to operate a wheel-lock mechanism that enabled a gun to fire. On the gun, the jaws of the lock clamped a piece of flint or pyrites designed to rub against the rough edge of the wheel project...