Wheel-Lock Holster Pistol

Description Weighing 8 lbs 8 oz. with intricate decoration-foliage, hunting vignettes, and heads of Roman gods-worked in bone or antler (with details dyed green) inlaid in the walnut body of the stock, this is typical of pistols treasured by the German nobility in the later 1500s. The bulbous butt counterbalances the weight of the barrel and serves as a grip when drawing the pistol from its holster. This pistol is of the type and style used by the bodyguard of Elector Christian I of Saxony, celebrated by contemporaries for his magnificent collections of arms and armor.

Provenance Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, 1926