Earliest Arquebusier's and Musketeer's Trapezoidal Powder Flasks, ca. 1530-1590

Matchlock · 18th June 2012, 09:37 PM

Textile-covered trapezoidal powder and small priming flasks, ca. 1540-60, showing North Italian stylistic influence; in the Graz arsenal.

The cloth was reused from Gothic chasubles.

Please cf. the illustration by Stradanus posted above which exactly depicts this type of flasks.

The scan at the bottom depicts various types represented in Graz; from left: Nuremberg, from deliveries of 1577-78; the others: cloth-covered, in North Italian style, ca. 1540-60, including a small priming flask.
Please note that the larger flasks all retain their original nozzle cap attached to the horizontal cut-off by a delicate chain; this cap is missing from almost all surviving flasks.
An alternative but more elaborate and expensive way of covering the nozzle was a spring-loaded and lever-acted, laterally mounted cover, which however is very rare to find.

In the foreground: a curved caliverman's flask of bleeched and engraved cowhorn, Nuremberg, dated 1606; the bottom mount missing.

Author's photos.

For caliverman's flasks, ca. 1580-1620, please see:

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...liverman+flask

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers

m

18th June 2012, 09:37 PM	#3
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Textile-covered trapezoidal powder and small priming flasks, ca. 1540-60, showing North Italian stylistic influence; in the Graz arsenal. The cloth was reused from Gothic chasubles. Please cf. the illustration by Stradanus posted above which exactly depicts this type of flasks. The scan at the bottom depicts various types represented in Graz; from left: Nuremberg, from deliveries of 1577-78; the others: cloth-covered, in North Italian style, ca. 1540-60, including a small priming flask. Please note that the larger flasks all retain their original nozzle cap attached to the horizontal cut-off by a delicate chain; this cap is missing from almost all surviving flasks. An alternative but more elaborate and expensive way of covering the nozzle was a spring-loaded and lever-acted, laterally mounted cover, which however is very rare to find. In the foreground: a curved caliverman's flask of bleeched and engraved cowhorn, Nuremberg, dated 1606; the bottom mount missing. Author's photos. For caliverman's flasks, ca. 1580-1620, please see: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...liverman+flask http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ght=bandoliers m Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 19th June 2012 at 06:20 PM.