One of the earliest pistols, this firearm was designed and produced by Peter Peck, a maker of watches and guns. The two locks combined in one mechanism provided the barrels with separate ignition. Made for Emperor Charles V (reigned 1519–56), the pistol is decorated with his dynastic and personal emblems: the double-headed eagle and the pillars of Hercules with the Latin motto PLUS ULTRA (More beyond).
#4411. Double-Barreled Wheellock Pistol Made for Emperor Charles V
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Wheellock pistol, overall view, lock side
Artwork Details
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Title:Double-Barreled Wheellock Pistol Made for Emperor Charles V (reigned 1519–56)
Gunsmith:Peter Peck (German, Munich, 1503–1596)
Etcher:Ambrosius Gemlich (German, Munich and Landshut, active ca. 1520–50)
Date:ca. 1540–45
Geography:Munich
Culture:German, Munich
Medium:Steel, gold, wood (cherry), staghorn
Dimensions:L. 19 3/8 in. (49.2 cm); L. of upper barrel 10 in. (25.4 cm); L. of lower barrel 7 5/8 in. (19.4 cm); Cal. of each barrel .46 in. (11.7 mm); Wt. 5 lb. 10 oz. (2550 g)
Classification:Firearms-Pistols-Wheellock
Credit Line:Gift of William H. Riggs, 1913
Object Number:14.25.1425
Inscription: Inscribed: PLVS VLTRA (More beyond).
Marking: Stamped on the breechblock and adjacent area of the barrel: the double P mark of Peter Peck.
Hollingworth Magniac, Colworth, Bedford, England (until 1892; Hollingworth Magniac, Esq. (Known as the Colworth Collection) sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London, July 2–11, 1892, no. 916 for 200 gns. to Duveen for Riggs); [Duveen Brothers, London, July 11–13, 1892; sold to Riggs]; William H. Riggs, Paris (until 1913; his gift to MMA).
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Making The Met, 1870–2020," August 29, 2020–January 3, 2021.
Argaiz, Don José. Armería Del Difunto D. José De Argaiz. Madrid, 1889. no. 46.
Christie's, London. The Renowned Collection of Works of Art, Chiefly Formed by the Late Hollingwoth Magniac (Also Known as the Colworth Collection). London: Christie's, London, July 2–4, 1892. p. 194, no. 916.
Dean, Bashford. "Mr. Riggs as a Collector of Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (March 1914), p. 72.
Dean, Bashford. Notes on Arms and Armor. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1916. p. 95.
Cripps-Day, Francis Henry. A Record of Armour Sales, 1881–1924. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1925. p. 29.
Dean, Bashford, and Robert T. Nichol. Handbook of Arms and Armor : European and Oriental, edited by Stephen V. Grancsay. 4th ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, October 1930. p. 178, fig. 115.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A Hapsburg Gun." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 29 p. 175.
Scofield, J.K., J. F. Hayward, James G. Mann, and C.G.E. Bunt. "Old Firearms in America." The Connoisseur 108 p. 8, fig. 1.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "A Wheellock Pistol Made for the Emperor Charles V." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (December 1947), pp. 116–22, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V. "The New Galleries of European Arms and Armor." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (May 1956), pp. 214, 234, ill.
Mayor, A. Hyatt. "The Gifts that Made the Museum." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (November 1957), p. 92, ill.
Hayward, J. F. The Art of the Gunmaker. Vol. 1. 1500–1660. London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962. p. 280, pl. 6a.
Thomas, Bruno, Ortwin Gamber, and Hans Schedelmann. Die schönsten Waffen und Rüstungen aus europäischen und amerikanischen Sammlungen. Heidelberg; Munich: Keysersche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1963. no. 29, ill.
Reitzenstein, Alexander. Der Waffenschmied. Vom Handwerk der Schwertschmiede Plattner und Büchsenmacher. Munich: Prestel Verlag, 1964. p. 90, fig. 50.
Blair, Claude. Pistols of the World. London: Batsford, 1968. p. 113, pl. 394.
Nickel, Helmut. Warriors and Worthies: Arms and Armor Through the Ages. New York: Atheneum, 1969. p. 86, ill.
Nickel, Helmut. Ullstein-Waffenbuch: eine kulturhistorische Waffenkunde mit Markenverzeichnis. Berlin: Ullstein, 1974. p. 256, ill.
Schalkhaußer, Erwin. "Peter Peck, The Emperor's Gunsmith." In Art, Arms and Armour: An International Anthology, edited by Robert Held. Vol. 1. Chiasso, Switzerland: Acquafresca Editrice, 1979. pp. 182–201, figs. 7–8.
Tarassuk, Leonid, and Robert Lawrence Wilson. "Aristocratic Arms Collectors: A History of Famous European Aficionados, Part I." Man at Arms for the Gun and Sword Collector 5 p. 34, ill.
Grancsay, Stephen V., and Stuart W. Pyhrr. Arms & Armor: Essays by Stephen V. Grancsay from the Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 1920–1964. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1986. pp. 308–313; fig. 96.1.
Nickel, Helmut. "Arms and Armor from the Permanent Collection." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 1991), pp. 42, 64, ill.
Troso, Mario. Italia! Italia! 1526–1530: La Prima Guerra D'indipendenza Italiana: Con Gli Assedi Di Milano, Napoli, Firenze, Il Sacco Di Roma E Le Battaglie Di Capo D'orso E Gavinana. Parma: E. Albertelli, 2001. pp. 256–57, pl. T25.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Thomas P. Campbell. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 163, ill.
Pyhrr, Stuart W. "Of Arms and Men: Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan, 1912–2012." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin (Summer 2012), p. 17, fig. 22.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Andrea Bayer, Laura D. Corey, Morrison H. Heckscher, Katharine Baetjer, Joan R. Mertens, and Barbara Drake Boehm. Making the Met, 1870–2020. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2020. pp. 75, 247, fig. 68.
Curator Donald J. La Rocca discusses the relationship between the Met's Bashford Dean and the collector William H. Riggs, who donated his impressive arms and armor collection to the Museum in 1913.
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