Wheellock Rifle
ca. 1663
Medium
Steel, wood (walnut), brass, bone
Dimensions
L. 40 3/4 in. (103.5 cm); L. of barrel 29 3/4 in. (75.6 cm); Cal. .52 in. (13.2 mm); Wt. 7 lb. 12 oz. (3515.3 g)
Classification
Firearms-Guns-Wheellock
Culture
German, Gmünd
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Estate of James Hazen Hyde, 1959
Accession Number
59.208.84
Art Historical Context
Step into the intricate world of17th-century German firearms this stunning wheellock crafted by Lienhart Has 1663. Housed the Metropolitan Museum of's Arms and Armor Department, this piece measures an impressive 40¾ inches long, with a 29¾-inch steel barrel of .52 caliber, weighing just over 7½ pounds. Its walnut stock is elegantly adorned with brass and bone inlays, showcasing the gunsmith's mastery in blending with decorative artistry—a hallmark of luxury weapons from Gmünd, a renowned center German gunmaking. The wheellock mechanism a technological marvel of its era, invented in the early ...