Wheellock Pistol
Unknown
ca. 1600–1610 · Steel, wood (maple), mother-of-pearl, brass, gold · Arms and Armor
French wheellock pistols of the early seventeenth century are distinguished by their extreme length, small-caliber barrels, and delicate decoration of engraved mother-of-pearl, staghorn, and brass. Innovations in the wheellock mechanism, such as the placement of the mainspring within a recess in the grip rather than on the interior of the lockplate (as was usual on German wheellocks), allowed the stocks of the French pistols to be lighter, more slender, and more gracefully proportioned.
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- ca. 1600–1610
- Medium
- Steel, wood (maple), mother-of-pearl, brass, gold
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Arms and Armor
- Credit line
- Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
