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Wheel-Lock Holster Pistol
(Baroque Europe , Arms and Armor )
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
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1926 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Geographies
Germany (Place of Origin)
Measurements
21 1/2 in. (54.6 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1926
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.
51.440