Wheellock Rifle with Spanner, Shot Extracting Tool, and Shooting Patch
ca. 1665
Medium
Steel, iron, gold, wood, antler, copper alloy, enamel, bone, textile
Dimensions
rifle (2015.446a): L. 43 1/2 in. (110.5 cm); L. of barrel 32 1/2 in. (82.6 cm); W. 8 1/4 in. (21 cm); D. 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm); Wt. 9 lb. 7 oz. (4280.8 g); spanner (2015.446b): L. 7 3/4 in. (19.7 cm); W. 7/8 in. (2.2 cm); D. 1 9/16 in. (4 cm); Wt. 4 oz. (113.4 g); shot extracting tool (2015.446c): L. 1 13/16 in. (4.6 cm); Diam. 3/8 in. (1 cm); Wt. 0.5 oz. (14.2 g); shooting patch (2015.446d): Diam. approx. 1 3/8 in. (3.5 cm)
Classification
Firearms-Guns-Wheellock
Culture
German, Augsburg
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Bequest, 2015
Accession Number
2015.446a–d
Tags
Art Historical Context
Crafted around 1665 by the renowned Augsburg gunsmith Martin Kamer, this wheellock rifle exemplifies the pinnacle of 17th-century German firearms artistry. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's and Armor Department, the ensemble includes the rifle itself—over 43 inches long and weighing nearly 10 pounds—along with aanner for winding the mechanism, a shot-extracting tool, a shooting patch. Aug was a thriving hub for luxury gunmaking, where master craftsmen like Kammerer engineering precision with opulent decoration for elite patrons. The wheellock mechanism, a technological marvel of its ...