Cleveland Museum of Art

Wheel-lock Petronel

Georg Kurland

Date

c. 1630

Medium

steel, gilding, and wood inlaid with elk horn, ivory, and mother-of-pearl

Culture

Silesia (Southwestern Poland), Teschen, 17th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

A petronel was a type of long pistol made with a wheel-lock ignition. Despite its length, the petronel was fired at the wrist like a pistol and not at the shoulder like a rifle. They were generally made in pairs during the early 1600s. Civilian versions were elaborately decorated for aristocratic clients.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.