An arquebus was a relatively short and light 15th to early-16th c. handgun, of an overall length of usually ca. 70-110 cm, in the earliest period without a lock and later equipped with either a tinderlock or matchlock, a wheellock, or a combination of both mechanisms.
I realize that this terminology is often improperly used, even by eyperts of auction houses and museums.
Attached are four characteristic early-16th c. matchlock arquebuses from my collection, the third from top dated 1539, their overall lengths ranging from 78 to 111 cm.
Best,
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