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16th Century German Wheellock Pistol with Stock Inlays

Currency:USD Category:Antiques / Firearms & Armory Start Price:0.00 USD Estimated At:16,000.00 - 25,000.00 USD
16th Century German Wheellock Pistol with Stock Inlays
The pistol has a smoothbore, half-round/half-octagon barrel dated "1575" on the top flat, with 10 asterix arranged on the top flats and a "HZ/ (block) maker's mark on the breech, with the identical makers mark on the lock. The pistol has a large, bright-finished lock, with the barrel stamp repeated below the wheel cover, scroll engraving on the cock and cockspring, and a spring loaded flashpan with engraved line accents. Full length ball pommel stock with intricate bone or ivory inlays, with almost the entire surface covered in intricate scrollwork, as little as .02 inches thick, with a large number of burst and line pattern decorated dots, and a number of larger panels, arranged as follows; the left side shows two feathered serpents on an oval, a larger serpent with a fruit arrangement, 2 man-headed beasts in an oval with a fruit bowl, a grouping of fruit, a leaf burst on a circle, a knight's helm backed by crossed swords, a scroll burst pattern on a circle, another grouping of fruit, and a floral and fruit engraved panel just ahead of the bone collar that connects the wrist to the pommel, the right side is similar, with the lock starting at the man-headed serpent panel and running to the floral panel, the underside has a lined and checkerboard tip, a 3.9" long panel leading to a man-headed winged serpents, a figure in Greco-Roman armor with polearm and shield, a leafy panel around the trigger and at the collar, and the top shows the head of a man in a fancy headdress on either side of the tang and a warrior with sword and shield, armored as the man on the underside. The pommel has a scroll decorated round cap, with 24 scroll, floral, leaf and fruit decorated circle panels arranged around the sides.
BBL: 11 1/4 inch
Stock: walnut
Gauge: 54 bore
Finish: bright
Grips:
Serial Number: NSN
Condition: Very good. The steel has been cleaned to a silver-gray patina, showing minor spotting concentrated around the flashpan, 2 mended cracks on the wheel cover, and mild handling marks overall. The stock is very good, showing a number of very old repairs to the wood and inlays, with light pressure dents and a fine aged color to the inlays. Removal of the well-fit lock exposes the continuation of a repair on the inside where a piece of linen mesh was glued to retain the left rear section of the stock (near the rear screw) from seperation. This is an example of an ornately adorned 16th Century German military ball-pommel wheellock pistol.