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Apr 23, 2020
Wheel-Lock from a Hunting Rifle
Wheel-Lock from a Hunting Rifle
c. 1720–40
Steel, engraved
Support: Chiselled with grotesques, masks and foliage
Overall: 29.2 x 11.7 cm (11 1/2 x 4 5/8 in.)
Weight: 335 g (11.82 oz.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.40
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Did you know?
The engraver's signature, I.C. Stenglin Sr., can be seen on the edge running vertically.
Description
At the beginning of the 1500s a new type of ignition system was invented: the wheel-lock, the first self-igniting mechanism for guns. This type of ignition involved a piece of iron pyrites held in the jaws of a cock. When the trigger was pulled the pyrites pressed against the serrated edge of a prewound revolving wheel, creating a shower of sparks that ignited priming powder in a pan on top of the lock. This action sent a flash of flame through the vent hole to explode the main charge in the breech of the barrel. Originally part of a deluxe hunting rifle, the lock plate's entire surface is engraved in a chaotic scene. Combating cavaliers, Turks, acanthus leaves, and trophies cover every bit of space.
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