An arquebusiers powder flask of about 1540's

[Marcus den toom]

Image set flask 1532, http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=140341 :

[Marcus den toom]

A saxon trabanten leibgarde powder horn, similar to the one in post 2 of this thread http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ht=powder+horn

I found it during my research and found it interesting enough to post it with this thread.

[Marcus den toom]

Even more material on the 1532 flask. I found that these series has both engravings of a noble man and also of a woman. The Version with the man on them are earlier than those with a woman, curious


http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/15285/lot/1259/

"A staghorn powder flask
probably German, 17th Century
The forked section of staghorn carved on the front side with the figure of a lady in 17th century dress, holding a wreath and standing framed by florals and an architectural arch. Iron fittings including a belt hook and top with long spout having a spring-mounted cover.
Condition: Showing dark patina, the mounts with some light pitting, the top loose.
See Illustration
Length: 9 inches.

Antique Arms and Armour San Francisco
15 May 2007 10:00 PDT

Auction 15285"

[Matchlock]

Hi Marcus,


Congratulations for acquiring that fine and early piece, which can be assigned to ca. 1540-50.

I am not quite sure though what actually makes you think it might have been part of a caliverman's equipment.
At the mid-16th century, all infantry men employing firearms were called arquebusiers.
The lightweight and shorter 'long' guns were called (h)arquebuses or Viertelhaken, whereas the long and heavier infantry firearms were termed Halbhaken or Ganze Haken.
It was only during the 2nd half of the 16th century that the terms caliver and caliverman, and musket and musketeer respectively, were established. The latter seems to have originated in Spain, and derived from the Spanish mosca (fly), and the French mousquetaire.

For closest possible comparison, I attached an image of a bifurcated natural staghorn flask, Nuremberg, ca. 1550, in The Michael Trömner Collection. Its iron mounts retain traces of their original minium (red lead) paint.

Attached next please find the polished and finely engraved body of a staghorn flask, initialled OTH for Pfalzgraf (Count Palatine) Ottheinrich, 1502-1559, who resided on Schloss Neuburg, some 50 km from where I live, and was a personal friend of Henry VIII.
The bifurcated body is dated 1552; the top mount and the left basal mount are both missing. Telling by its very special type, it may originally have been a combined powder flask and holder for paper cartridges!

The view from the top into the body of the flask also proves that the rings actually were rings for suspension, and on a cord and tassels (German: Aufputz), which was common to all powder flasks. The tassels were also used to wipe the iron surfaces and igniting pan of a firearm.
Moreover, the fact that these rings were, of course, screwed to the staghorn body and could not be extracted by the flask's weight is clearly visible on that image.

The hook mounted on the flask's reverse actually was a belt hook, and not a frog hook as on caliverman's flasks; it is pierced with a trefoil ornament (German: Trifoliendekor, Dreipass), actually representing a bunch of grapes, and stylized to the absolute minimum of three dots in both Late Gothic and Renaissance art.

For early staghorn flasks, please cf. my thread
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...taghorn+flasks

For Ottheinrich's personal wheellock arquebus dated 1533, please cf. my thread
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...theinrich+1533



Attachments:

- Pfalzgraf Ottheinrich

- the trefoil ornament in Gothic architecture

- etching with bunches of grapes and running animals set within grapevine scrolls: on the blade of a fine hunting sword of ca. 1525-30, preserved in the Bargello, Florence

- bunches of grapes;
blind embossing on a book binding dated 1545



Best,
Michl/Michael Trömner

[Matchlock]

More attachments referring to the
Early German Renaissance trefoil ornament, reduced to three dots forming a triangle, and partly set within grapevine scrolls:
images oftwo very fine and important cranequins for crossbows dated 1504 and 1532 respectively, and both struck with the well-known workshop mark of the Nuremberg 'Master of the crossed arrows' (definition set up by Michael Trömner);
they both show the Early German Renaissance petiolate trefoil ornament (German: gestielter Dreipass), reduced to three dots forming a triangle.

Both itemsformerly in The Michael Trömner Collection, and now in another private Bavarian collection.
Please cf. my thread:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...bow+collection


Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

Images depicting

- a very fine cranequin dated 1540, and struck with the well-known maker's mark of the Nuremberg 'Master of the crossed arrows' (definition set up by Michael Trömner), lined in brass

and

- an unusually finely wrought cranequin, defined as a masterpiece; the ratched bar elaborately engraved with petiolate trefoils set within a grapevine pattern, and dated 1545.
Cf.
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...bow+collection

Both cranequins are struck with the Nuremberg workshop mark of the 'Master of the crossed arrows'.

German private collection


Best,
Michael Trömner

[Matchlock]

One more instance of the stylized trefoil decoration, found on another cranequin datable to ca. 1535, and in a Bavarian private collection:
engraved on the forward section of the ratched bar, and reduced to three dots struck to form a triangle.

This cranequin, too, is struck with the Nuremberg workshop mark of the 'Master of the crossed arrows'.


As stated above, the ornament on this item is a sample of the most simplified variant of a bunch of grapes, which seems to have originated as a stylistic decorative element in the late 15th or early 16th century - and primarily employed on all kinds ironworks including weapons and armor.


Have fun studying,
and best,
Michael Trömner

[Marcus den toom]

Hi Michl,

You are absolutly right, my mistake The thing is that i did read that thread about the arquebusiers flask when i first studied my flask, but forgot about it when i began to save and accumulate all the information regarding this thread.
I changed the title to a more accurate one.

Regarding the suspension i understand your explanation and the evidence but why would they hang there large flasks from cords as well? The hook would suffice and a cord would only get in the way when in the heat of battle you grab your flask and the cord gets tangled. But this is my inexperienced view on the matter

The picture of the powder/grains that fell out of my flask, are they enough evidence of actuall use of the flask?

Thank you as alwways my friend,