Wheellock Pistol

ca. 1600–1620

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375

By the 1570s, French gunmakers had developed a wheellock that, compared with German locks, was a compact and elegantly shaped mechanism. Combined with lighter barrels, the new lock gave French firearms a distinctive appearance enhanced by restrained but elaborate decoration in various techniques. Further technical innovations during the seventeenth century––like the flintlock of French design and improved forms of guns and pistols––won French gunmakers a leading role in Europe. French models and ornamental patterns were followed widely and greatly influenced the forms and decoration of firearms in other countries. A contributing factor in this trend was the massive emigration of Protestant craftsmen who fled France in the late seventeenth century to avoid religious persecution.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Title: Wheellock Pistol
Date: ca. 1600–1620
Culture: French
Medium: Steel, gold, wood (maple), staghorn, mother-of-pearl
Dimensions: L. 28 5/8 in. (72.7 cm); L. of barrel 20 5/8 in. (52.4 cm); L. of lock 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm); Cal. .37 in. (9.4 mm); Wt. 3 lb. 5 oz. (1503 g)
Classification: Firearms-Pistols-Wheellock
Credit Line: Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number: 14.25.1423
Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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Double-Barreled Wheellock Pistol Made for Emperor Charles V (reigned 1519–56), Peter Peck German, Steel, gold, wood (cherry), staghorn, German, Munich — Double-Barreled Wheellock Pistol Made for Emperor Charles V (reigned 1519–56)
Peter Peck
Ambrosius Gemlich
ca. 1540–45

Cased Set of a Flintlock Rifle, a Pair of Pistols, and Accessories, Nicolas Noël Boutet French, Steel, wood (walnut, mahogany), silver, gold, horn, velvet, French, Versailles — Cased Set of a Flintlock Rifle, a Pair of Pistols, and Accessories
Nicolas Noël Boutet
ca. 1800

Wheellock Pistol, Steel, wood (maple), mother-of-pearl, brass, gold, French — Wheellock Pistol
French
ca. 1600–1610

Pair of Wheellock Pistols, Pierre Le Bourgeois French, Steel, gold, wood, silver, mother-of-pearl, French, Lisieux — Pair of Wheellock Pistols
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ca. 1610–20

Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun, J. C. A. Brun French, Steel, wood (walnut), gold, French, Paris — Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1866

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