An Extremely Rare Five-Barreled Tiller Gun, ca. 1515-20

[Matchlock]

The bundle of five barrels of cast bronze, the touch holes located on top, the central barrel fitted with rear and foresight; and with an integrally cast short socket pierced with a pin hole for a tiller stock (missing); 1st half 16th c.
Overall length ca. 50 cm.
Preserved in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nuremberg, currently exhibited in the collections of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg.

In one of the inventories of the Emperor Maximilian I, cod.icon. 222 (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München), ca. 1495-1515, fol. 46b, three similar tiller guns are depicted, mounted with three, four and six barrels respectively.

The general shape of the barrels, as well as the sights, of the Nuremberg item are clearly more developed than those illustrated at the beginning of the 16th c.
The possibility cannot be excluded that this piece is even non-European, and of later date than it seems.


m

[Matchlock]

A very similar cast-bronze bundle of three barrels (the breeches burst) is preserved in the Benkovac Heritage Museum, Croatia:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=14626&highlight=croatia


It is dated ca. 1470, which in my opinion is as incorrect as the ascription to Leonardo da Vinci; the drawings in the 'Maximilian' inventories are much closer.

m

[Spiridonov]

Michael, I have seen this famous multibarrel hangonne from your first message in topic and I have made some photos of this
:D

[Matchlock]

Thank you for those great photos, Alexender! :cool:

Now we can even make out the recoil hook which confirms a German provenance of early 16th c. without any doubt!


Best,
Michael