The earliest recorded Scottish pistols, like this example, have stocks made of wood rather than steel. This pistol, one of a pair, was given by the duke of Kurland to Johann Georg I, elector of Saxony, in 1616. Its mate remains in the Historisches Museum, Dresden. It is believed that the pistols were originally a royal gift to Duke Wilhelm from James I, king of England and Scotland, in 1615.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Snaphaunce Pistol Made for Wilhelm, Duke of Kurland
Date:dated 1615
Culture:Scottish
Medium:Steel, gold, silver, wood (brazilwood)
Dimensions:L. 19 3/4 in. (50.2 cm); L. of barrel 12 1/2 in. (31.8 cm); Cal. .38 in. ( 9.7 mm); Wt. 2 lb. 5 oz. (1050 g)
Classification:Firearms
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. Alexander McMillan Welch, in memory of Alexander McMillan Welch, 1946
Accession Number:46.105
Inscription: Inscribed on the lockplate: 1615.
Marking: Marked on the lockplate and barrel: H I, superimposed and surmounted by a crown;
Engraved on a silver plaque set in the barrel near the breech: the arms belonging to Wilhelm, Duke of Kurland, with his initials incorporated.
Wilhelm Kettler, Duke of Kurland, Mitau, Duchy of Kurland (present-day Jelgava, Latvia) (until 1616; his gift to Elector Johann Georg); Elector Johann Georg I of Saxony, Dresden (1616–d. 1656; by descent through his heirs, the Prince-Electors of Saxony); King Anton of Saxony, Dresden (1827–1832; transferred with the contents of the royal and electoral armory to the Historisches Museum); Königliches Historisches Museum, Dresden (1832–at least 1900); Bashford Dean, New York (by 1926–d. 1928; his bequest to Welch); Alexander McMillan Welch, New York (1926–d. 1943; by descent to his wife); Fannie Fredericka Welch, New York (1943–46; her gift to MMA).
Micol, J.M. "Dessins à la Plume." In Panoplie Européenne. Brussels: Musée d’Armes et d'Objets Anciens, Bordeaux, 1858. pl. 12, fig. 5.
Siebmacher, Johann. "Bd. 1: Souveräne und Landesfürsten, Abtl. 3, Tl. 3A1: Die Fürsten des Heiligen Römischen Reiches. A–L." In Grosses und allgemeines Waffenbuch: in einer neuen, vollständig geordneten und reich vermehrten Auflage mit heraldischen und historisch–genealogischen Erläuterungen, edited by Maximilian Gritzner. Grosses und Allgemeines Wappenbuch, Vol. 1, pt. 3:3A1. Nürnberg: Verlag von Bauer & Raspe, 1887. pp. 122–23, pl. 148–49 (for arms of Kettler family, Dukes of Curland).
Ehrenthal, Max von. Führer Durch das Königliche Historische Museum zu Dresden. 3rd ed. Dresden: Wilhelm Baensch, 1899. p. 133, no. F-318.
Grancsay, Stephen V. Loan Exhibition of European Arms and Armor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, August 3 to September 27, 1931. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1931. p. 89, no. 364.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Claude Blair. "Scottish Pistols in the Metropolitan Museum." American Rifleman 95, no. 11 pp. 18–19, fig. 1.
Isenburg, Wilhelm Karl, Frank Freytag von Loringhoven, and Detlev Schwennicke. Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten: (Europäische Stammtafeln). Vol. I. 2nd ed. Marburg: J. A. Stargardt, Berlin, 1953. pl. 88 (genealogy of the dukes of Kurland).
Hayward, J. F. The Art of the Gunmaker. Vol. 1. 1500–1660. London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962. p. 223.
Hayward, J. F. The Art of the Gunmaker. Vol. 1. 1500–1660. 2nd ed. ed. London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1965. p. 243–44.
Lindsay, Merrill, Bruce Pendleton, Verne Noll, and Peter Parnall. One Hundred Great Guns: An Illustrated History of Firearms. New York: Walker and Company, 1967. pp. 58–59.
Eaves, Ian. "Some Notes on the Pistol in Early 17th Century England." The Journal of the Arms and Armour Society VI, no. 11 p. 329.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 257, ill.
Blair, Claude. "Scottish Firearms." The Bulletin of the American Society of Arms Collectors 31 pp. 61–101 (best inroduction to the subject).
Eaves, Ian. "Further Notes on the Pistol in Early 17th Century England." The Journal of the Arms and Armour Society VIII, no. 5 pp. 316–319.
Isenburg, Wilhelm Karl Prinz zu. "Die deutschen Staaten. Die Stammesherzoge, die weltlichen Kurfürsten, die kaiserlichen, königlichen und grossherzoglichen Familien." In Europäische Stammtafeln. Neue Folge, edited by Detlev Schwennicke, and Frank Freytag von Loringhoven. Vol. 1. Marburg, Germany: J. A. Stargardt, Berlin, 1980. pl. 159b (genealogy of the dukes of Kurland).
Schaal, Dieter. "The Scottish Pistols in the Dresden Rüstkammer." IAMAM XII 1990 Congress Report, IAMAM Congress Report, pp. 83–84.
Klatte, Gernot. "Frühe schottische Pistolen in der Dresdener Rüstkammer." Dresdener Kunstblätter 54, no. 1 pp. 23–27, 29, no. 27.
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