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Source Description
This specialized staff weapon was used primarily to ignite the charge in pieces of artillery. The two lateral projections ending in eagles' heads are actually clips designed to hold the smoldering matches that allowed the firer to stand a little further from the cannon. The short, leaf-shaped blade allowed the linstock to be used as a weapon if necessary.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
96052
label
Linstock
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
96052
contentType
object
title
Linstock
description
This specialized staff weapon was used primarily to ignite the charge in pieces of artillery. The two lateral projections ending in eagles' heads are actually clips designed to hold the smoldering matches that allowed the firer to stand a little further from the cannon. The short, leaf-shaped blade allowed the linstock to be used as a weapon if necessary.
date
c. 1600–25
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60761722
genreSpecific
Arms and Armor
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 201 cm (79 1/8 in.); Blade: 25.2 cm (9 15/16 in.)
cul
France, 17th century
accession
1916.1786
Source extras
tec
steel; octagonal wood haft covered with green velvet, brass studs
tombstone
Linstock, c. 1600–25. France, 17th century. Steel; octagonal wood haft covered with green velvet, brass studs; overall: 201 cm (79 1/8 in.); blade: 25.2 cm (9 15/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance, 1916.1786
collection
MED - Arms & Armor
didYouKnow
The tapestries and weaponry adorning the walls of the Armor Court are not props. Located near the portrait of Agostino Barbarigo, this linstock hangs to the far right of a grouping of weapons. The blade ends in a double snake design and is attached to a solid wood handle.
citations
citation
<em>Catalogue of Arms and Armour.</em> [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], 1900.
page_number
Cat. no. 403
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: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 201, H64
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N. <em>Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. </em>[Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998.
page_number
pp. 126, 167; cat. no. 108
citation
Fliegel, Stephen N<em>. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
cat. no. 114, p. 187-188
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance
galleryDonorText
Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Armor Court
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:10:15.328000
sourceId
96052
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Arms & Armor
med
steel; octagonal wood haft covered with green velvet, brass studs
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
5091d921769b0836