Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Matchlock Petronels, Germany, ca. 1550-1600

Matchlock · 5th May 2014, 10:11 PM

A very elegantly shaped, North Italian matchlock petronel caliver, ca. 1570, the pan cover also showing the coin-like Renaissance portrait.
Overall length 1.35 m, bore 16 mm, weight 5.1 kg.
Armeria Reale, Torino, Italy, inv.no. M.1 (3 attachments).

And another, maybe somewhat earlier, ca. 1560-70, the buttstock elegantly shaped. On this piece we also understand the function of the small eye screw at the underside of the buttstock. Many petronels feature this screw, as well as some early matchlock muskets before ca. 1600. As is depicted here, it was to secure the long and delicate trigger bar from getting lost, by attaching it by means of a cord. On our piece in discussion, this cord (or piece of wire) sadly is too short. The effect is that the internal leaf spring is held under permanent tension, and the serpentine is forced backwards, frozen in the firing position!
How can any museum curator possibly do such a mindless, horrible thing?! You know me well enough by now to have a premonition of what is coming next - and you are right! Here it is: museums!!! Grrr ...! mad:

Armeria Reale, Torino, Italy, inv.no. M.4 (1 attachment).

Attached at the bottom are three close-ups of the rear section of the octagonal barrel of another North Italian petronel caliver, an earlier piece of ca. 1550-60, and preserved in fine condition. Again, the pan cover is struck with a coin-style male portrait; this gun is in the collection of a friend of mine. I was allowed to dismantle it for research purposes, and took these potos.

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5th May 2014, 10:11 PM	#7
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	A very elegantly shaped, North Italian matchlock petronel caliver, ca. 1570, the pan cover also showing the coin-like Renaissance portrait. Overall length 1.35 m, bore 16 mm, weight 5.1 kg. Armeria Reale, Torino, Italy, inv.no. M.1 (3 attachments). And another, maybe somewhat earlier, ca. 1560-70, the buttstock elegantly shaped. On this piece we also understand the function of the small eye screw at the underside of the buttstock. Many petronels feature this screw, as well as some early matchlock muskets before ca. 1600. As is depicted here, it was to secure the long and delicate trigger bar from getting lost, by attaching it by means of a cord. On our piece in discussion, this cord (or piece of wire) sadly is too short. The effect is that the internal leaf spring is held under permanent tension, and the serpentine is forced backwards, frozen in the firing position! How can any museum curator possibly do such a mindless, horrible thing?! You know me well enough by now to have a premonition of what is coming next - and you are right! Here it is: museums!!! Grrr ...! mad: Armeria Reale, Torino, Italy, inv.no. M.4 (1 attachment). Attached at the bottom are three close-ups of the rear section of the octagonal barrel of another North Italian petronel caliver, an earlier piece of ca. 1550-60, and preserved in fine condition. Again, the pan cover is struck with a coin-style male portrait; this gun is in the collection of a friend of mine. I was allowed to dismantle it for research purposes, and took these potos. m Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 5th May 2014 at 11:42 PM.