Wheel-Lock Hunting Rifle
Maucher (whose initials are on the stock) was a carver as well as stock maker. The stock is carved in relief with motifs of a hunter with his rifle and a young woman who carries a hunting hawk on her arm (a favorite form of hunting for women) and a spear. In the 1600s, women did not hunt with spears; rather, this alludes to the Roman goddess Diana who hunted with a spear and whose exploits and virtues validated hunting for its adherents. The original lock (a wheel-lock) was later replaced with a "Prague" flintlock made in the 1700s.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Richard Zschille, Grossenhain, Saxony; Henry Griffith Keasbey, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, American Art Association, New York, 1924, no. 265; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1924 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Germany (Schwabisch-Gmund) (Place of Origin)
Measurements
43 1/2 in. (110.5 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1924
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
51.586