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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

Object Information
  • 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

More Artwork

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Wheellock Pistol, Steel, wood (maple), mother-of-pearl, brass, gold, French
Wheellock Pistol
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ca. 1600–1610
Flintlock Gun of Louis XIII (1601–1643), King of France, Pierre Le Bourgeois French, Steel, brass, silver, gold, wood (walnut), mother-of-pearl, French, Lisieux
Flintlock Gun of Louis XIII (1601–1643), King of France
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Gunsmith Marin Le Bourgeois
ca. 1620
Guitar, Jean-Baptiste Voboam French, Spruce, tortoiseshell, mother-of-pearl, ivory, ebony, French
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attributed to Jean-Baptiste Voboam
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Pair of Wheellock Pistols, Pierre Le Bourgeois French, Steel, gold, wood, silver, mother-of-pearl, French, Lisieux
Pair of Wheellock Pistols
Gunsmith Pierre Le Bourgeois
ca. 1610–20

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