The body of this box is of wood, hollowed out to fit four cylindrical cartridges, and was once covered with black velvet, now completely worn. The mounts are of silver engraved with arabeques, geometric patterns, a pheasant on the front strap, a standing horse on the bottom, and a fox on the back. On the cover is the coat of arms (a storming ladder) and the initials H G W of Hans Georg Wehse, the court marshal (Hofmarschall In the sixteenth century, paper cartridges were introduced for faster reloading of firearms. Each cartridge contained a premeasured powder charge and a bullet; after one end of the paper wrapping was torn open, the powder and bullet were poured down the barrel, followed by the paper which served as a wad.
Hans Georg Wehse was the commander of the Trabantenleibgarde, the bodyguard of the Prince Electors of Saxony at Dresden, during the reigns of Christian I (1586–91), and Christian II (1601–11), as well as during the interim regency of Frederick Wilhelm (1591–1601). Wehse is recorded as having supplied equipment for the Trabantenleibgarde at his own expense. This cartridge box, serial number I, with his personal arms, was probably his own as commander of the guard.
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Title:Cartridge Box
Date:late 16th century
Geography:Saxony
Culture:German, Saxony
Medium:Steel, silver, wood, velvet
Dimensions:H. 4 in. (10.2 cm); Wt. 10.9 oz. (309 g)
Classification:Firearms Accessories
Credit Line:Bashford Dean Memorial Collection, Funds from various donors, 1929
Object Number:29.158.700
Inscription: Engraved on the cover: H G W.
Marking: Stamped inside the box: B P; on the back and the bottom: I.
Historisches Museum, Dresden (until 1923; sold to Dean); Bashford Dean, New York (1923–d. 1928; sold by his estate to MMA).
Seattle, Wash. Seattle Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," March 11, 1982–June 6, 1982, no. 118.
Denver, Colo. Denver Art Museum. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," July 18–October 10, 1982, no. 118.
San Antonio, Tex. Witte Museum of the San Antonio Museum Association. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 13, 1982–February 5, 1983, no. 118.
Minneapolis, Minn. Minneapolis Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 24–July 31, 1983, no. 118.
San Francisco. Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," November 5, 1983–January 28, 1984, no. 118.
Detroit, Mich. Detroit Institute of Arts. "The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from The Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 4–June 17, 1984, no. 118.
Royal Armoury. Royal Armoury, Hay-Market: Catalogue. London, 1835. no. 130 (another cartridge box with the Weyse arms and initials).
Ehrenthal, Max von. Führer Durch das Königliche Historische Museum zu Dresden. 3rd ed. Dresden: Wilhelm Baensch, 1899. p. 95 (swords and cartridge boxes bearing the arms of Wehse and the same goldsmith's mark as on this cartridge box).
Andrade, Cyril V. Catalogue and Photographs of a Collection of Arms and Armour in the Possession of Messrs. Cyril Andrade, Ltd.. Catalogues of the Collection of Arms and Armour, Vol. V. 1st ed. ed. London, 1928. no. 130, ill. (another cartridge box with the Wehse arms and initials).
The 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. p. 240, no. 195, pl. LXII.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Helmut Nickel, Stuart W. Pyhrr, Leonid Tarassuk, and American Federation of Arts. The Art of Chivalry: European Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art: An Exhibition. New York: The Federation, 1982. pp. 172–74, no. 102, ill.
Sotheby's, New York. European Works of Art, Arms and Armour, Furniture and Tapestries. New York: Sotheby's, New York, May 24, 1993. lot 478, ill. (ex-Petry cartridge box).
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