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Wheellock Rifle

ca. 1680–90
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375
Johann Michael Maucher was the most famous member of a Schwabian family of ivory, wood, and amber carvers. He specialized in decorating gunstocks in intricately carved walnut inlaid with panels of ivory worked in relief depicting hunting subjects and allegorical figures. Firearms with such luxurious decoration presumably were valued more for their artistic virtuosity than for their practical use as sporting arms.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Wheellock Rifle
  • Maker: Johann Michael Maucher (German, Schwäbisch Gmünd, 1645–1701)
  • Date: ca. 1680–90
  • Geography: Schwäbisch Gmünd
  • Culture: German, Schwäbisch Gmünd
  • Medium: Steel, wood (cherry), ivory, mother-of-pearl
  • Dimensions: L. 41 5/8 in. (105.7 cm); L. of barrel 30 13/16 in. (78.3 cm); L. of lock 7 1/8 in. (18.1 cm); Cal. .56 in. (14.2 mm); Wt. 7 lb. 11 oz. (3500 g)
  • Classification: Firearms
  • Credit Line: Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942
  • Object Number: 42.50.8
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
Wheellock Rifle Made for Emperor Leopold I, Johann Michael Maucher German, Steel, pearwood, ivory, mother-of-pearl, German, Schwäbisch Gmünd
Wheellock Rifle Made for Emperor Leopold I
Stock maker Johann Michael Maucher
Barrelsmith I. C. Schefl
ca. 1685
Pair of Flintlock Pistols of Empress Catherine the Great (1729–1796), Johan Adolph Grecke Russian, Steel, ivory, gold, brass, Russian, Saint Petersburg
Pair of Flintlock Pistols of Empress Catherine the Great (1729–1796)
Gunsmith Johan Adolph Grecke
1786
Clarinet in D, Boxwood, brass, German
Clarinet in D
German
1750–70
Model of Wheellock Rifle, Steel, wood, ivory, mother-of-pearl, silver, German
Model of Wheellock Rifle
German
ca. 1700
Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun, J. C. A. Brun French, Steel, wood (walnut), gold, French, Paris
Double-Barrel Breech-Loading Pinfire Shotgun
Multiple artists/makers
dated 1866

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