Germany / 1600s
Wheel-Lock from a Hunting Gun
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Wheel-Lock from a Hunting Gun as arms and armor (Germany · 1600s).
Engraving, one of the oldest techniques for decorating metal objects, was frequently used to embellish the metal parts of high quality firearms.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this arms and armor as steel, engraved.
The museum's collection notes: Engraving is one of the oldest methods for decorating metal objects and often appears on high-quality firearms, such as this wheel lock engraved with images of the hunt. Engraving tools used by goldsmiths included steel burins and punches, whose exact specifications varied across Europe and determined, to some extent, regional variations to early engravings on paper. The name of the locksmith (a specialist in springs and triggers), Georg Bernardton Hauser, is engraved on the wheel.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtWheel-Lock from a Hunting GunOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.