Art Institute of Chicago

Wheellock Rifle

Elias Becker (German, Augsburg active 1633-1673)

Date

c. 1670

Medium

Steel, staghorn, cherry wood, beech wood, gilt brass, copper, and enamel

Culture

Augsburg

Department

Applied Arts of Europe

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This rifle’s eccentric design conveys a certain tension between rough and refined, natural and artificial, and—metaphorically—hunter versus hunted. Its antler-like stock is veneered with plaques of natural staghorn, sawn, cut, and shaped to the contours of a traditional German rifle. In extreme contrast, the stock’s cheek rest is mounted with a painted enamel depicting the Roman goddess of the hunt, Diana. Five similar rifles were produced for several dukes of Saxony and the king of Denmark, but this is the only one signed by the creative stock maker, Elias Becker, best known for his highly ornamental work; this austere yet inventive design is a surprising part of his oeuvre.

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