This hunting gun of unusual richness and superb workmanship incorporates in its decoration the initials and the coat of arms of Philippe de Croy (1526–1595), a Franco-Flemish nobleman and Spanish grandee. Figures and scenes carved in ivory represent more than a dozen Greek gods and a series of detailed vignettes with episodes from the story of the mythological hero Perseus.
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Lock side; rear half, lock side; rear half, other side
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Lock side; rear half, lock side; rear half, other side
Rear half of gun, cheek side of stock
Rear half of gun, lock side of stock
Artwork Details
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Title:Wheellock Gun of Philippe de Croy, Prince of Chimay (1526–1595)
Date:1551–56
Geography:possibly Antwerp
Culture:Flemish, possibly Antwerp
Medium:Steel, gold, silver, wood, ivory
Dimensions:L. 42 1/8 in. (107.0 cm); L. of barrel 27 5/8 in. (70.2 cm); Cal. .56 in. (14.2 mm); Wt. 8 lb. 10 oz. (3917 g)
Classification:Firearms-Guns-Wheellock
Credit Line:Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Gift of Mrs. Bashford Dean, 1929
Accession Number:29.151.1
Inscription: Inscribed: MELIVS EST NOS MORI IN BELLO QVA[M] VIDERE MALE GENTIS NOSTRAE (It is better for us to die in war than to look upon the misery of our people). This is probably a paraphrasing of Livius XXII, 15, 7, the answer of the Roman senate after the Battle of Cannae, 216 BC.
Philippe III de Croÿ, 3rd Duke of Aerschot, 4th Prince of Chimay, Arenberg Castle, Heverlee, Duchy of Brabant (present-day Leuven, Belgium) (before 1556–d. 1595); Prince Rudolf von und zu Liechtenstein, Castle Mährisch-Kromau (Moravský Krumlov), Moravia (present-day Czech Republic) (by 1858–d. 1908; transferred to Liechtenstein Garden Palace); Princes of Liechtenstein, Garden Palace, Vienna (1908–11; transferred to Vaduz Castle); Johann II, Prince of Liechtenstein, Vaduz Castle, Vaduz (1911–26; sold en bloc with numerous objects from the collections of the Princes of Liechtenstein, to Dean); Bashford Dean, New York (1926–d. 1928; by descent to his wife); Mary Alice Dyckman Dean, New York (1928–29; her gift to MMA).
Stockerau, Austria. Stockerauer Schützenverein. "Historische Ausstellung für Jagd– und Schützenwesen," June 1–9, 1902.
St. Petersburg. Stieglitz Museum of Applied Arts. "Exposition Rétrospective d'Objets d'Art," 1904.
St. Petersburg, Russia. Stieglitz Museum. "Exposition rétrospective d'objets d'art," 1904.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Incisive Images: Ivory and Boxwood Carvings, 1450–1800," March 13–November 25, 2007.
Maurice, Jean Baptiste. Le blason des armoiries de tous les chevaliers de l'Ordre de la Toison D'Or depuis la premier institution jusques à present.. The Hague, p. 241.
Micol, J.M. "Dessins à la Plume." In Panoplie Européenne. Brussels: Musée d’Armes et d'Objets Anciens, Bordeaux, 1858. n.p., pl. 8, fig. 5, ill.
Prokop, August, and Wendelin Boeheim. Kunstgewerbliches aus der vom Mähr. Gewerbe-Museum im Jahre 1885 Veranstalteten Ausstellung von Waffen, Kriegs- und Jagd-Geräthen. Brunn: Moravské Zemské Muzeum, 1885. pp. 21–22, ill. (on pls. 17-19.).
List, C. Katalog der Historischen Ausstellung für Jagd- und Schützenwesen, edited by Stockerauer Schützenverein. Stockerau, Austria: Verlag des Ausstellung-Comités für das X. n.-ö. Landes-Schiessen, June 1–9, 1902. No. 258, ill.
Prachoff, Adrien. Album de l'Exposition Rétrospective d'Objets d'Art de 1904, à St. Petersbourg. St. Petersbourg: S-Té R. Golicke & A. Wilborg, 1904. pp. 249, 251, ill (pl. 124).
Metropolitan Museum of Art, Stephen V. Grancsay, and Carl Otto von Kienbusch. The Bashford Dean Collection of Arms and Armor in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Portland, ME: Southworth Press for the Armor and Arms Club of New York City, 1933. pp. 230–33, no. 187, pls. LVII–LVIII.
Thomas, Bruno, Ortwin Gamber, and Hans Schedelmann. Arms and Armour of the Western World. New York: McGraw Hill, 1964. Reference updated from object cards. - M. Sock, 10/19/17.
Hoff, Arne. Feuerwaffen: Ein waffenhistorisches Handbuch. Bibliothek für Kunst- und Antiquitätenfreunde ; Bd. 9, 9a, Vol. 1. Brunswick: Klinkhardt u. Biermann, 1969. p. 55.
Blair, Claude. "A Royal Swordsmith and Damascener: Diego de Çaias." Metropolitan Museum Journal 3 pp. 182–183, figs. 51, 52, ill.
Schwennicke, Detlev. "Familien des Alten Lotharingien I." In Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten. Neue Folge. Vol. 6. Marburg: J. A. Stargardt, Berlin, 1978. plate 98 (Croy genealogy).
Blair, Claude. "King Henry VIII's Chamber Pieces." Royal Armouries Yearbook (2002), pp. 22–39, figs. 13–15, ill.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), pp. 30–31, fig. 47.
Byck, John. "Firearms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Arsenals of History: Firearms and Museums in the 21st Century (2018), pp. 46–47, fig. 7.
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