Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Ca. 1520: One of the World's Oldest and Finest Matchlock Landsknecht Arquebuses

Matchlock · 27th May 2014, 12:09 PM

A comparison of the shape of the eponymous, downcurved buttstocks of the earliest prestage of petronel stocks, like the one from about 1520 on my arquebus in discussion, with the fully evolved, bent buttstocks of a group of Nuremberg manufactured petronels in the Landeszeughaus Graz - one of them is dated 1568 -, definitely shows a close relationship.

The petronel illustrated at the bottom (last three attachments), with the pronouncedly curved buttstock, is one of the latest of this type, ca. 1580's. The barrel is struck with Nuremberg makers marks and the quality proof mark of that city.
This is remarkabe as it attests the fact that the Nuremberg style got adopted very quickly by of the numerous workshops resided in Suhl/Thuringia. By ca. 1590-1600, the form of both the lock plate and serpentine had become characteristic of matchlocks made in Suhl, where enormous quantities of 'military' guns were manufactured, and exported to most armories and arsenals of Middle and Northern Europe.

Attachments: all author's photos, and copyrighted.

Best,
Michael

27th May 2014, 12:09 PM	#16
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	A comparison of the shape of the eponymous, downcurved buttstocks of the earliest prestage of petronel stocks, like the one from about 1520 on my arquebus in discussion, with the fully evolved, bent buttstocks of a group of Nuremberg manufactured petronels in the Landeszeughaus Graz - one of them is dated 1568 -, definitely shows a close relationship. The petronel illustrated at the bottom (last three attachments), with the pronouncedly curved buttstock, is one of the latest of this type, ca. 1580's. The barrel is struck with Nuremberg makers marks and the quality proof mark of that city. This is remarkabe as it attests the fact that the Nuremberg style got adopted very quickly by of the numerous workshops resided in Suhl/Thuringia. By ca. 1590-1600, the form of both the lock plate and serpentine had become characteristic of matchlocks made in Suhl, where enormous quantities of 'military' guns were manufactured, and exported to most armories and arsenals of Middle and Northern Europe. Attachments: all author's photos, and copyrighted. Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 27th May 2014 at 08:18 PM.