Cleveland Museum of Art

Powder Flask

Johann Michael Maucher

Date

c. 1680

Medium

boxwood with design of stag and hounds carved in high relief; steel funnel, mounts, springcatch

Culture

German, Swabian, Gmünd, 17th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Powder flasks are small, portable containers designed to hold gunpowder. From the 1400s to the 1800s, powder flasks were indispensable for charging and priming firearms of all types. Without powder flasks firearms were of little use to their owners. Many highly decorated flasks rank as works of art. Johann Michael Maucher was the most famous member of a Schwabian family of ivory, wood, and amber carvers.

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