Wheel-lock Rifle, ca. 1680–90
Johann Michael Maucher (German, 1645–1701)
German (Schwäbisch Gmünd)
Engraved steel; wood, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl
Artist Biography
Technical Glossary
Johann Michael Maucher (German, 1645–1701)
German (Schwäbisch Gmünd)
Engraved steel; wood, inlaid with ivory and mother-of-pearl
Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942 (42.50.8)
Johann Michael Maucher was the most famous member of a Schwabian family of ivory, wood, and amber carvers. He specialized in decorating gunstocks in intricately carved walnut inlaid with panels of ivory worked in relief with hunting subjects and allegorical figures. Firearms with such luxurious decoration were presumably valued more for their artistic virtuosity than their practical use as sporting arms.
