Hunting Knife Combined with Wheellock Pistol

Ambrosius Gemlich

blade ca. 1528–29, etched with a calendar for the years 1529–34; barrel dated 1540 or 1546 · Steel, gold, staghorn, bronze · Arms and Armor

In the sixteenth century, wheellock pistols sometimes were combined with swords, knives, axes, maces, spears, and even crossbows, which could be used in the event the pistol misfired. Usually clumsy and impractical, combined weapons were nevertheless highly prized curiosities. On this example, the heavy, cleaverlike blade is etched with a calendar and the decorator's name.

Artist

Ambrosius Gemlich

Date

blade ca. 1528–29, etched with a calendar for the years 1529–34; barrel dated 1540 or 1546

Medium

Steel, gold, staghorn, bronze

Culture

German, Munich

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1904