Breech loading 1450-1550

[Matchlock]

Both these arquebuses, just like the combined wheellock and snap-matchlock Passau arquebus shown in post #5 and and the Vienna wheellock pistol illustrated in post #6, bear the maker's mark of Christoph Arnold of Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany, on the breech.
Both have self-spanning locks as well!

They are stunning pieces of 500 year-old high tech!!!

Please note the sickle-shaped dog spring running around the wheel!

This falchion mark (Stockel #a 5812) is illustrated below. In most cases, Christoph Arnold struck it twice on the barrels of his guns.

This second arquebus is preserved in much less fine original condition but the iron parts show a nice old yellowish dried-oil surface, and together with what might be traces of the original bluing/case-hardening color, plus some fine greenish grease resulting from the chemical influence of the copper-soldered iron parts seen on the inside of the open breech, and the patina of the stock, they all add up to a very charming impression of a virtually 'untouched' piece, a sleeper.
The stock of this piece is painted black, which is not necessarily its original color.
On breech-loading guns (système à la tabatière), the spring-loaded breech section normally opens by pulling back the rear sight allowing one of a number of iron cartridges once held ready for fast exchange to be inserted. On this piece by Chistoph Arnold, as on his other breech-loading guns, however, the breech snaps open by pulling back a spur-like device at the rear, much like the spur of a percussion hammer!
Another special feature of Christoph Arnold's locks is that their pan covers slide manually instead of shutting by a spring-loaded relase button!

The dog for the pyrites is missing from this gun, and we cannot see the inside lock mechanism, but we may assume with sufficient certainty that it, too, originally employed a self-spanning action.
The self-spanning mechanism is acivated by pressing a little clamp at the base (foot) of the dog which, in this unique instance, then actually acts as a cock and spans the wheel via a long chain consisting of a lot of riveted liinks - please see images of the inside of the lock in post #5!


The iron cartridge is missing from the breech. The cleaning rod (in this case it was not a ramrod!) is now missing, too; it would have been of wood, most probably ash, and equiped with a tubular iron finial threaded for a scourer. Also a part of the swiveling safety catch is missing on the rear left-hand side of the lock plate, as well as the originally dove-tailed backsight of the barrel.


This arquebus is preserved in the Rotunda Museum of Royal Artillery, Woolwich, Great Britain.
May I ask the curators of the Rotunda to be kind enough to take out the lock from the stock and take good images from various angles of its inside mechanism? I would then gratefully comment on the gun with greater authority.



Overall length ca. 118 cm, barrel ca. 84 cm, caliber ca. 14 mm smoothbore.


Best,
Michael