Interesting arquebuse

[Spiridonov]

About 1490(?)
Length 1792mm
Barrel length 980mm
Calibre 18.8mm
Michael, hallo. I have any questions for you. What is the date of this weapon? Is the stock original or not?

Best wishes!

[Matchlock]

Hi Alexender,

You sure have found another remarkable early firearm! ;)

As the touchhole is on the right hand side and is already surrounded by a rectangular pan shaped trough, and as the rear barrel plug already has a small square sort of tang, I would atribute the piece to the early 16th century, so we really are very close in our minds! :) The stock may well be the original.

Where is this piece preserved? Could I have some high resolution image?

I attach my own photos of a very similar haquebut in the reserve collection of the Swiss Landesmuseum Zürich, the wrought iron barrel struck with a Nuremberg workshop mark, the pan probably a working life addition, the stock of comparable shape and stamped with the date 1519 in Gothic cyphers. Please note that in the 15th and early 16th centuries, the cypher 5 often looked like a modern 7 but the Gohic numeral 7 actually looked like this: ^

Best wishes,
Mikhail

[Pukka Bundook]

Hmmm....
Interesting gun!
I would have thought that the stock/tiller migh have been replaced at some point, though quite a long time ago! ...replaced, or heavily cleaned I would have said. The reason for this, is the apparent lack of handling marks, and the stains from the metal not being too pronounced
I could very well be wrong!!!
Is the tiller pointing somewhat "up-hill"? from the photo, it appears higher at the butt-end than at the wrist or grip.

Michael,
Hello!
On the gun you show, do you think it was at one time fitted with a serpentine? I am only going by the apparent hole in the stock below and behind the tang.

Best.
Richard.

[Spiridonov]

Michael, thank you very much for comments. I has just found the website which include this photos
http://www.feuerwaffen.ch/halbhaken.htm

[Matchlock]

Hello Richard,

You may be right in doubting the age of the stock. I have seen many in museums, especially Vienna, which, though being original, had been robbed of all their patina.

Anyway, I could not judge just on the grounds of these pics.

Well, I am positive there never was a serpentine on the Zürich Haken. The hole you meant would be much too big for a nail pivot of a serpentine but was for a wooden or iron transversal bolt that went thru the 'tang' and fixed it to the stock.

Best,
Michael