The barrels, locks, and other metal elements of these pistols are undecorated, allowing the intricate inlaid wood ornamentation of the gunstocks to stand out. The dense web of scrolling foliage inhabited by owls, other animals, and masks was created by carving recesses into the wood, and filling them with minute pieces of carved antler, a painstaking process that also required great technical prowess. Stocks decorated in this style are generally believed to originate from Thuringia on account of an example in the Historical Museum in Bern, Switzerland, which is signed "Klaus Hirt gunstock maker in Wasungen," a Thuringian town West of Suhl, a major center for the manufacture of military firearms.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Wheellock Puffer Pistols
Gunsmith:Balthasar Dressler (German, Dresden, active 1573–1615)
Gunsmith: Master HR (German, active ca. 1585)
Date:ca. 1585
Geography:Dresden
Culture:German, Dresden
Medium:Steel, wood (walnut), antler
Dimensions:Pistol (a): L. 24 in. (61 cm); L. of barrel 15 3/8 in. (39.1 cm); Cal. .61 in. (15.49 mm); Wt. 5 lb. 8.1 oz. (2496 g); pistol (b): L. 24 in. (61 cm); L. of barrel 15 5/16 in. (38.9 cm); Cal. .62 in. (15.74 mm); Wt. 5 lb. 7.7 oz. (2486 g)
Classification:Firearms-Pistols-Wheellock
Credit Line:Gift of The Robert M. Lee Foundation, in celebration of the Museum’s 150th Anniversary, 2018
Object Number:2018.856.8a, b
Marking: Stamped on the shorter barrel flat: H [shield containing a rampant lion facing left and holding an arrow] R; on the longer barrel flat: B [shield containing a bird standing on a log] D.
Dmitri, Comte de Nesselrode, Château de Tzarevtchina, Saratov, Russia (until d. 1890; Armes et Armures de la Collection du Comte de Nesselrode au Château de Tzarevtchina, Saratov (Russie) sale, Frederik Muller & Cie, Amsterdam, April 28, 1909, no. 336); [Louis Bachereau, Paris, after 1909]; Edward Hubbard Litchfield, New York (until d. 1930; by descent to his son); Edward Hubert Litchfield, New York (1930–d. 1949; by descent to his brother); Bayard Sands Litchfield, Bedford, New York (1949–51; Arms and Armor, Mainly European XV-XIX Century. The Important Collection Formed by Edward Hubbard Litchfield... sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, December 5–6, 1951, no. 262, for $650, to Adler); A.M. Adler, New York (from 1951); Roy G. Cole, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada (until 1970; Fine Firearms sale, Sotheby & Co., London, June 15, 1970, no. 60, for £5,400 to Jenkinson); Geoffrey Jenkinson, Guernsey (from 1970); [Peter Tillou Works of Art Ltd., London, until 1992; sold to Lee]; Robert M. Lee, Sparks, NV (1992–d. 2016; bequeathed to the Robert M. Lee Foundation); The Robert M. Lee Foundation, Sparks, NV (2016–18; their gift to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor," August 3–September 27, 1931, no. 297 (lent by E. Hubert Litchfield).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Emperors, Artists & Inventors: Transformative Gifts of Fine Arms and Armor," December 21, 2020–February 21, 2022.
The Edward Hubbard Litchfield (1846–1930) Collection of Arms and Armor. n.p., n.d.. pp. 120–22, nos. 471, 472.
Armes et Armures de la Collection du Comte de Nesselrode au Château de Tzarevtchina (Gouvernement de Saratov, Russie). Paris, 1904. pls. 80, 84.
Frederik Muller & Cie. Armes et Armures de la Collection du Comte de Nesselrode au Château de Tzarevtchina, Saratov (Russie). Amsterdam: Frederik Muller & Cie, April 28, 1909. p. 10, no. 336, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. p. 76, no. 297, ill.
Parke-Bernet Galleries. The Important Collection of Arms and Armor, mainly XV–XIX century. New York: Parke-Bernet Galleries, December 5–6, 1951. pp. 64–65, no. 262, ill.
Sotheby & Co. Fine Firearms. London: Sotheby's, London, June 15, 1970. pp. 29–30, no. 60, ill.
Peter Tillou Works of Art Ltd. Firearms: A Catalogue of Distinguished Firearms from Peter Tillou Works of Art Ltd., London 1992. London: Peter Tillou Works of Art Ltd., 1992.
Bantz, Jennifer, Kayla Elam, Anne Blood Mann, and Briana Parker, eds. Gifts of Art: The Met's 150h Anniversary. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2020. p. 181.
Belair, Sean. "Pistol Display Mounts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Armax: The Journal of Contemporary Arms (Autumn–Winter 2024), p. 61, fig. 3.
Crossbow attributed to Johann Gottfried Hänisch the Elder (German, Dresden 1696–1778)
crossbow, ca. 1720–30; winder, ca. 1575–1600
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