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Source Description
Early firearms required many different tools to operate. These tools did not have to remain purely practical but could be decorated and embellished. A spanner was integral to a wheel lock gun. The wheel lock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The spanner was needed to turn the wheel and spring, readying the gun to be fired.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
166332
label
Spanner for a Wheel Lock Gun
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
166332
contentType
object
title
Spanner for a Wheel Lock Gun
description
Early firearms required many different tools to operate. These tools did not have to remain purely practical but could be decorated and embellished. A spanner was integral to a wheel lock gun. The wheel lock works by spinning a spring-loaded steel wheel against a piece of pyrite to generate intense sparks, which ignite gunpowder in a pan, which flashes through a small touchhole to ignite the main charge in the firearm's barrel. The spanner was needed to turn the wheel and spring, readying the gun to be fired.
date
1600s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79996441
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 16.5 x 2.5 cm (6 1/2 x 1 in.)
cul
Germany
accession
2008.171
Source extras
tec
steel
tombstone
Spanner for a Wheel Lock Gun, 1600s. Germany. Steel; overall: 16.5 x 2.5 cm (6 1/2 x 1 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. Marvin Shie, 2008.171
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
This spanner operated a wheel-lock mechanism that enabled a gun to fire.
creditline
Gift of Dr. Marvin Shie
updatedAt
2026-05-29 08:35:04.193000
sourceId
166332
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
08dc1f9c716efa66