Art Institute of Chicago

Wheellock Rifle

Gunsmith: Johan Carl Öfner

Date

c. 1720

Medium

Steel, silver, walnut, horn, staghorn, and mother-of-pearl

Culture

Austria

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Despite the invention of the simpler flintlock, the wheellock remained in use for hunting well into the 18th century, as the ignition was a split second faster. This could make a difference when hunting deer, sensitive enough to react to the sound of the ignition before the bullet left the gun. On later wheellocks, such as this example, the wheel is concealed under the lock plate. The decorative inlay of engraved mother-of-pearl, silver, and staghorn, with its florid designs of S- and C scrolls, reflects the newly developing Rococo style.

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