Triple-Barrel Revolving Flintlock Fowling Piece from the Gun Cabinet of the Princes of Liechtenstein
c. 1650
Medium
Steel, brass, walnut, ebony, and horn
Dimensions
L. 141.3 cm (55 5/8 in.) Barrel L. 101.4 cm (39 7/8 in.) Wt. 6 lb. 4 oz. Caliber .47
Classification
firearm-long gun
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
106446
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
When hunting fowl in flight, it was difficult to aim fast enough to get another shot with a second gun. This early flintlock fowling piece was designed to solve this problem. To get a quick second shot, and even a third, the hunter reset the cock, withdrew the lever in front of the trigger to release the barrels, manually rotated to the next charged barrel, and pulled the trigger again. Triple-barrel guns are exceptionally rare, as the weight typically rendered them too cumbersome. This gun, ho...