A unique bronze barrel wall gun (doppelter Doppelhaken), Nuremberg, ca. 1515-20

Matchlock · 22nd December 2011, 06:18 PM

Hi John,

I'm afraid it's a bit too risky to narrow the possible founder of your barrel down to just one person who was active in Zwickau. Nuremberg and Augsburg were the great centers of early gunmaking and founding in the 16th c. The flames you mentioned are by no way characteristic of a specific craftsmen or workshop but originated from the Italian 15th c. Renaissance where they firstly symbolized a fire throwing dragon or serpent-like monster and, using this zoomorphic ornamentation, were employed to make look firearm barrels like embodiments of monsters breathing fire. Soon after that, the flames became common in all kinds of arts and crafts; e.g. the vertical slits in the Landsknecht trousers derived from these flame ornaments.

Best,
Michael

22nd December 2011, 06:18 PM	#11
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi John, I'm afraid it's a bit too risky to narrow the possible founder of your barrel down to just one person who was active in Zwickau. Nuremberg and Augsburg were the great centers of early gunmaking and founding in the 16th c. The flames you mentioned are by no way characteristic of a specific craftsmen or workshop but originated from the Italian 15th c. Renaissance where they firstly symbolized a fire throwing dragon or serpent-like monster and, using this zoomorphic ornamentation, were employed to make look firearm barrels like embodiments of monsters breathing fire. Soon after that, the flames became common in all kinds of arts and crafts; e.g. the vertical slits in the Landsknecht trousers derived from these flame ornaments. Best, Michael