Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - XVI century matchlock and barrel, help with more precise dating

Matchlock · 3rd May 2014, 11:17 AM

Hi Kerja,

You already know a whole lot on these objects, and your dating is quite correct!

This wrought-iron barrel and lock both can be safely dated to ca. 1530-50 - which means 'ca. 1540' - and doubtlessly originally belonged to snap-tinderlock Landsknecht (mercenary's) arquebuses. The tubular shape of the head of the tinderholder/serpentine is clearly identifiable.

The barrel is three-staged but without notable accentuation at the two transitions between the change of stages. The breech and long muzzle sections are octagonal, with a notable swamping at both ends. This form accounts for the date assigned by me, as in earlier times, which is ca. 1520-30, most barrels were visibly divided into two or three stages, including round and/or octagonal sections. The bore of your barrel should be ca. 14-16 mm, so the bore measure by you is absolutely typical. Above the breech is a deeply struck, unidentified quatrefoil maker's mark, possibly representing a cross; similar marks in the Late Gothic tradition are known from haquebut barrels. And there is another mark, a bit forward towards the muzzle: three deeply struck 'dots' forming a characteristic Late Gothic/Early Renaissance stylized trefoil (German: Dreipass), most probably struck as a scarce decorative element.

Somewhat unusual is the rectangular shape of the igniting pan - which almost certainly was dovetailed in a horizontal slot chiseled at the right-hand side of the barrel, in the touch hole area; the originally swiveling pan cover is missing but a rest of the riveted pivot should be visible.
During the first half to the middle of the 16th century, pans on tinderlock/matchlock arquebuses mostly were rounded, with a round and deep trough for the igniting powder. It is possible however that your barrel saw some re-use in later times, which is the Thirty Years War (1610-1648) when every older gun was re-used as long as it would still fire. In this case, the pan could be a 17th c. modernization.

Another important point is that the barrel certainly was sighted; the rear sight, now missing, may have been dovetailed right at the end of the top flat of the barrel, and there seems to be a remainder of the small blade foresight right at the forward end of the top barrel flat.

The shape of the lock plate, with its raised forward section, seems somewhat unusual at first glance; but in the reserve collection of the Historisches Museum Basel, Switzerland, is another snap-tinderlock arquebus, ca. 1540-50, with a very similar shaped lock plate (3 attachments).

Attached on top please find photos of such arquebuses. The photo of four depicts Landsknecht arquebuses from ca. 1520 (bottom), ca. 1525-30 (top), ca. 1540 (second from top) and dated 1539 (third from top).
Two of them, from ca. 1540, are illustrated by close-ups to convey an impression of what the stock and the whole gun looked like. The wood used for these guns was mostly either pear wood or limewood. The stocks of the two arquebuses attached is limewood.
The one on top was made in Nuremberg/Bavaria and is dated 1539 on the barrel; the overall length of this gun is 112 cm, the bore is 16 mm.
The second was probably made in Suhl/Thuringia and the limewood full stock is branded with a plow, the arsenal mark of the town of Straubing/Lower Bavaria. Its barrel, octagonal throughout, with swamped rear and forward sections, is very similar to the one posted by you. This short arquebus is 94 cm long overall, the bore is 14 mm.
(First four attachments).

For more on these two arquebuses please see my threads:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...echt+harquebus

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...echt+harquebus

Further information on tinderlock arquebuses and matchlocks is provided in my following threads:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...rrel+harquebus

At the bottom, and for comparison, I attached some views of a fine Italian (Tusco-Emilian) Landsknecht snap tinder- or matchlock arquebus of ca. 1525-35, in my collection. It features a three-staged, finely wrought barrel, the stages notably divided by filed Renaissance balusters.
More on it:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...necht+arquebus

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=barrel+prague

All author's photos.

Now have fun reading and studying, and I can hardly wait to see the photos of the other guns found! Please do post all of them!
I am really looking forward to learn more - both about and from! - , a person who is so good at dating these plain and early 'military' firearms as obviously you are! Most of the time it seems I am doing quite a lonesome 'job' here ...
Please tell us more soon - and do post tons of photos!

Best,
Michael

3rd May 2014, 11:17 AM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Kerja, You already know a whole lot on these objects, and your dating is quite correct! This wrought-iron barrel and lock both can be safely dated to ca. 1530-50 - which means 'ca. 1540' - and doubtlessly originally belonged to *snap-tinderlock Landsknecht (mercenary's) arquebuses. The tubular shape of the head of the tinderholder/serpentine is clearly identifiable. The barrel is three-staged but without notable accentuation at the two transitions between the change of stages. The breech and long muzzle sections are octagonal, with a notable swamping at both ends. This form accounts for the date assigned by me, as in earlier times, which is ca. 1520-30, most barrels were visibly divided into two or three stages, including round and/or octagonal sections. The bore of your barrel should be ca. 14-16 mm, so the bore measure by you is absolutely typical. Above the breech is a deeply struck, unidentified quatrefoil maker's mark, possibly representing a cross; similar marks in the Late Gothic tradition are known from haquebut barrels. And there is another mark, a bit forward towards the muzzle: three deeply struck 'dots' forming a characteristic Late Gothic/Early Renaissance stylized trefoil* (German: Dreipass), most probably struck as a scarce decorative element. Somewhat unusual is the rectangular shape of the igniting pan - which almost certainly was dovetailed in a horizontal slot chiseled at the right-hand side of the barrel, in the touch hole area; the originally swiveling pan cover is missing but a rest of the riveted pivot should be visible. During the first half to the middle of the 16th century, pans on tinderlock/matchlock arquebuses mostly were rounded, with a round and deep trough for the igniting powder. It is possible however that your barrel saw some re-use in later times, which is the Thirty Years War (1610-1648) when every older gun was re-used as long as it would still fire. In this case, the pan could be a 17th c. modernization. Another important point is that the barrel certainly was sighted; the rear sight, now missing, may have been dovetailed right at the end of the top flat of the barrel, and there seems to be a remainder of the small blade foresight right at the forward end of the top barrel flat. The shape of the lock plate, with its raised forward section, seems somewhat unusual at first glance; but in the reserve collection of the Historisches Museum Basel, Switzerland, is another snap-tinderlock arquebus, ca. 1540-50, with a very similar shaped lock plate (3 attachments). Attached on top please find photos of such arquebuses. The photo of four depicts Landsknecht arquebuses from ca. 1520 (bottom), ca. 1525-30 (top), ca. 1540 (second from top) and dated 1539 (third from top). Two of them, from ca. 1540, are illustrated by close-ups to convey an impression of what the stock and the whole gun looked like. The wood used for these guns was mostly either pear wood or limewood. The stocks of the two arquebuses attached is limewood. The one on top was made in Nuremberg/Bavaria and is dated 1539 on the barrel; the overall length of this gun is 112 cm, the bore is 16 mm. The second was probably made in Suhl/Thuringia and the limewood full stock is branded with a plow, the arsenal mark of the town of Straubing/Lower Bavaria. Its barrel, octagonal throughout, with swamped rear and forward sections, is very similar to the one posted by you. This short arquebus is 94 cm long overall, the bore is 14 mm. (First four attachments). For more on these two arquebuses please see my threads: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...echt+harquebus http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...echt+harquebus Further information on tinderlock arquebuses and matchlocks is provided in my following threads: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=tinder+lock http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...rrel+harquebus At the bottom, and for comparison, I attached some views of a fine Italian (Tusco-Emilian) Landsknecht snap tinder- or matchlock arquebus of ca. 1525-35, in my collection. It features a three-staged, finely wrought barrel, the stages notably divided by filed Renaissance *balusters. More on it: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...necht+arquebus http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=barrel+prague All author's photos. Now have fun reading and studying, and I can hardly wait to see the photos of the other guns found! Please do post all of them! I am really looking forward to learn more - both about and from! - , a person who is so good at dating these plain and early 'military' firearms as obviously you are! Most of the time it seems I am doing quite a lonesome 'job' here ... Please tell us more soon - and do post tons of photos! Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 3rd May 2014 at 09:44 PM.*