A Highly Interesting Regensburg Matchlock Wallgun of ca. 1640, the Barrel ca. 1490

Matchlock · 21st July 2009, 06:36 PM

Hi Spirodonov,

Reply to your first question:

I, too, noticed on Robert's images that there was a coat of arms painted on the left side of the stock of the Ingolstadt haquebut/wallgun, almost certainly city arsenal or owner's arms. I will try to get a detailed image and do some research, so please be patient.

As I wrote the oak wood is stained black; it does no seem like paint to me. The staining was certainly a sort of impregnation of the wood, especially as the grounding was probably a water solution of chalk.

You are perfectly right, there is such a thing called the chronology of South German oak wood. As far as I know it has been set up for oak only. If the museum would consent to having a portion sawn off the stock (!) the cutting date of the oak tree in the second half of the 15th century could be determined by a synopsis of the annual rings as closely as plus/minus 15 years - not actually very helpful indeed ...

Reply to your second question:

As I wrote both the barrel and the stock of the Ingolstadt wallgun are contemporary, i.e. both were made in ca. 1490, the barrel almost certainly at a Nuremberg workshop.

Best,
Michael

21st July 2009, 06:36 PM	#9
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Spirodonov, Reply to your first question: I, too, noticed on Robert's images that there was a coat of arms painted on the left side of the stock of the Ingolstadt haquebut/wallgun, almost certainly city arsenal or owner's arms. I will try to get a detailed image and do some research, so please be patient. As I wrote the oak wood is stained black; it does no seem like paint to me. The staining was certainly a sort of impregnation of the wood, especially as the grounding was probably a water solution of chalk. You are perfectly right, there is such a thing called the chronology of South German oak wood. As far as I know it has been set up for oak only. If the museum would consent to having a portion sawn off the stock (!) the cutting date of the oak tree in the second half of the 15th century could be determined by a synopsis of the annual rings as closely as plus/minus 15 years - not actually very helpful indeed ... Reply to your second question: As I wrote both the barrel and the stock of the Ingolstadt wallgun are contemporary, i.e. both were made in ca. 1490, the barrel almost certainly at a Nuremberg workshop. Best, Michael