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Source Description
Early firearms required many tools and accessories for their proper use and maintenance. This clever design fulfilled a dual purpose as a spanner and priming flask. Small containers like this one would hold fine-grain gunpowder used to set off (or prime) the main charge in the barrel. A spanner would be used to operate a wheel-lock mechanism that enabled a gun to fire. On the gun, the jaws of the lock clamped a piece of flint or pyrites designed to rub against the rough edge of the wheel projecting into the pan. The wheel was revolved by a tightly coiled spring wound by the spanner and released when the gun's trigger was pulled causing sparks to ignite the gunpowder in the breech.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
96704
label
Combined Priming Flask and Wheel-Lock Spanner
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
96704
contentType
object
title
Combined Priming Flask and Wheel-Lock Spanner
description
Early firearms required many tools and accessories for their proper use and maintenance. This clever design fulfilled a dual purpose as a spanner and priming flask. Small containers like this one would hold fine-grain gunpowder used to set off (or prime) the main charge in the barrel. A spanner would be used to operate a wheel-lock mechanism that enabled a gun to fire. On the gun, the jaws of the lock clamped a piece of flint or pyrites designed to rub against the rough edge of the wheel projecting into the pan. The wheel was revolved by a tightly coiled spring wound by the spanner and released when the gun's trigger was pulled causing sparks to ignite the gunpowder in the breech.
date
c. 1600–1650
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60757486
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 18.1 x 5.7 cm (7 1/8 x 2 1/4 in.)
cul
Germany or Austria, first half of 17th Century
accession
1916.43
Source extras
tec
horn with brass and steel mounts
tombstone
Combined Priming Flask and Wheel-Lock Spanner, c. 1600–1650. Germany or Austria, first half of 17th Century. Horn with brass and steel mounts; overall: 18.1 x 5.7 cm (7 1/8 x 2 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.43
supportMaterials
description
brass and steel mounts
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
Many accessories that were used in hunting were made of the very animals that were to be hunted, this one here was made of horn.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour</em>. Vol. 4, <em>17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work</em>. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915].
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (247) 272
citation
Gilchrist, Helen Ives. <em>A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923.</em> Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
page_number
Mention: p. 158, F46
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
p. 175, cat. no. 243
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
p. 195, cat. no. 260
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:12:34.628000
sourceId
96704
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
horn with brass and steel mounts
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
3aec05a9925490f5