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Matchlock Petronel

ca. 1570–80
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375
When aiming a gun of this type, the sharply curved end of the stock was pressed against the chest (poitrine in French), hence the name petronel. The inlaid decorations of bone, some tinted green, reflect German influence. Whereas plain, inexpensively made matchlock guns were the standard weapon of muskateers throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, richly decorated examples such as this one seem to have been made for noblemen, either for hunting or for target shooting.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Matchlock Petronel
  • Date: ca. 1570–80
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Steel, wood, bone
  • Dimensions: L. 45 1/4 in. (114.9 cm); Cal. .51 in. (12.9 mm); Wt. 7 lb. 11 oz. (3487 g)
  • Classification: Firearms-Guns-Matchlock
  • Credit Line: The Collection of Giovanni P. Morosini, presented by his daughter Giulia, 1932
  • Object Number: 32.75.111
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

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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
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