Art Institute of Chicago

Wheellock-Matchlock Musket

Dutch, possibly German

Date

c. 1600-c. 1630

Medium

Steel, iron, brass, gilding, walnut, mother-of-pearl, staghorn, leather, and pyrite

Culture

Netherlands

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Unlike most heavy muskets, the weapon of the common soldier, this elaborate example is filled with gilt brass and mother-of-pearl inlay. Even the firing mechanism makes use of the more expensive wheellock rather than just a simple matchlock. It was formerly kept in the gun room of Castle Tetschen (Děčín), today in the Czech Republic, together with a few others by the same workshop. As a group, they were used by the barons Thun und Hohenstein for the sport of target shooting; courtly competitions developed in emulation of civic shooting matches held by guilds and militias to practice their military skills.

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