Radschlossbüchse

This exceptional wheellock gun can be attributed to Daniel Sadeler, a gunsmith active in Munich and Prague, and David Altenstetter, a goldsmith from Augsburg. Both the drawn barrel and the lock are decorated with basreliefs of arabesques and figurative scenes (tritons). The cock of the wheellock has the shape of a dragon-like creature (see cat. 82). The stock of the gun is covered with silver plates set in gilt and engraved silver frames. The goldsmith Altenstetter decorated these silver plates with polychrome translucent enamel. On the far side of the fore-end is the artist’s monogram, D.A.F. (David Altenstetter fecit: ‘David Altenstetter made it’). The enamel decoration features trophies, garlands of flowers and foliage, fruit baskets, jumping deer, etc. The side opposite the lock is decorated with a victory goddess framed by mounted warriors in Hungarian attire.

Although the gun is fully functional, its extremely fragile enamel ornamentation makes it highly unsuitable for actual use. This Kunstkammer object can be dated to Daniel Sadeler’s sojourn at the court in Prague in 1602–10. Perhaps the victory goddess is a reference to the Treaty of Zsitvatorok, signed by the Habsburgs and the Ottoman Empire in November 1606, which ended the Long Turkish War that had broken out in 1591.

There is also a powder flask (inv. A 209a) decorated in a similar manner. The scenes on its two enamelled silver plates depict, respectively, Diana and Actaeon.