Description

At the beginning of the 1500s the handfire weapon began to change the face of European warfare. a new type of ignition system was invented: the wheel-lock, the first self-igniting mechanism for guns. This new technology was particularly attractive to rich nobleman who commissioned such guns for hunting. Gunmakers lavished all form of embellishment on these firearms: chiseling, engraving, and gilding of the metal parts as well as the use of rare woods for the stock and inlays of horn, bone, and ivory.