A unique bronze barrel wall gun (doppelter Doppelhaken), Nuremberg, ca. 1515-20

Matchlock · 17th January 2009, 07:45 PM

A detail of the stylized cyphers on the slate board, ca. 1530, which compare to the numbering present on the hook of my Doppelhaken.
m

Matchlock · 17th January 2009, 08:21 PM

Detail of the numbering on the hook.

Matchlock · 14th October 2009, 04:41 PM

The original snap tinder lock is now missing but there is little doubt that it must have looked a lot like the earliest detached lock in my collection, which you will find pics of below.

The blackened oak full stock is painted with the coat of arms, a sword, and the full name of the Nuremberg war captain Cristoff Kress von Kressenstein, who was given this heavy wall gun by the Nuremberg elders for supporting their campaign against the Franconian robbar baron Thomas von Absberg in 1523. The Kressenstein coat of arms is repeated cast and chiseled in high relief on top of the copper alloy barrel.

Best,
Michael

Matchlock · 14th October 2009, 04:48 PM

The rest.

Matchlock · 14th October 2009, 05:04 PM

Hohenlohe-Langeburg is the very castle the wall gun in my collection came from. The one presented here today is very similar to mine, except for the somewhat longer muzzle section whose time of origin is documented and backed up by the date 1525 on the barrel, together with the Hohenlohe coat of arms.

Please note that the wall hook is incised with another example of a primitive numbering symbol, very similar to that on the hook of my piece.

Michael

cannonmn · 5th December 2011, 08:08 AM

Thanks for posting those fine weapons. I am always looking for similar items here in the USA but they don't surface very often. I thought perhaps you could help me with a question about the German Museum in Nuremberg. I'm sure you are familiar with A. Essenwein's two-volume work "QUELLEN ZUR GESCHICHTE DER FEUERWAFFEN" republished in 1969. I'd like very much to know if the Germanischen Museum still has the hackbut pictured in the plates volume, page B VII-e. There are two images on the lower right-side of page B VII identified on the page by letter "e." I would greatly like to obtain photographs of that particular item. Perhaps you have been there and have taken some photographs you could post or send to me? Does the museum still have that weapon? If you don't have photos of it, can you advise me how to go about getting them?

You seem to know a lot about hackbuts, so could you tell me where the hackbut pictured in page B VII (e) was made, if you have that information?

The reason I'm asking is that I have a hackbut nearly identical to that one which has the initials "J U R" engraved deeply near the breech. Do you know what that marking indicates? I have been trying for many years to identify that marking.

Thanks!

Matchlock · 5th December 2011, 08:36 PM

Hi John,

It has been so good to finally meet a third fellowman interested in the same stuff!

The haquebut you referred to, illustrated by a line drawing in Essenwein's basic work, is still preserved and on display in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg.

I'm attaching the pictures I have taken over two decades, plus a b/w photo taken by the museum about 100 years ago.

The piece is about 1.60 m long overall, the barrel length being ca. 1 m. The snap tinder-lock nailed to the stock at the right hand side of the breech may be contemporary. The stock is oak, painted black. The complete piece might weigh about 20 kg (German: doppelter Doppelhaken) and can be dated closely to ca. 1515-20. It was doubtlessly cast and stocked in Nuremberg.

The second piece on the images is dated 1534 on the bronze barrel, the present backsight being a Thirty Years War alteration (the original integral backsight at the base of the barrel removed).

In order to judge your haquebut, as well as the inscription, I would need to see overall images and close-ups.

Best,
Michael

17th January 2009, 07:45 PM	#1
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	A detail of the stylized cyphers on the slate board, ca. 1530, which compare to the numbering present on the hook of my Doppelhaken. m Attached Images

17th January 2009, 08:21 PM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Detail of the numbering on the hook. Attached Images

14th October 2009, 04:41 PM	#3
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Another Very Similar Piece, ca. 1523, at the Germanic National Museum Nuremberg The original snap tinder lock is now missing but there is little doubt that it must have looked a lot like the earliest detached lock in my collection, which you will find pics of below. The blackened oak full stock is painted with the coat of arms, a sword, and the full name of the Nuremberg war captain Cristoff Kress von Kressenstein, who was given this heavy wall gun by the Nuremberg elders for supporting their campaign against the Franconian robbar baron Thomas von Absberg in 1523. The Kressenstein coat of arms is repeated cast and chiseled in high relief on top of the copper alloy barrel. Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 14th October 2009 at 05:07 PM.

14th October 2009, 04:48 PM	#4
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	The rest. Attached Images

14th October 2009, 05:04 PM	#5
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Another, Dated 1525, at the Castle of the Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, Franconia Hohenlohe-Langeburg is the very castle the wall gun in my collection came from. The one presented here today is very similar to mine, except for the somewhat longer muzzle section whose time of origin is documented and backed up by the date 1525 on the barrel, together with the Hohenlohe coat of arms. Please note that the wall hook is incised with another example of a primitive numbering symbol, very similar to that on the hook of my piece. Michael Attached Images

5th December 2011, 08:08 AM	#6
cannonmn Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 161	Questions on hackbut Thanks for posting those fine weapons. I am always looking for similar items here in the USA but they don't surface very often. I thought perhaps you could help me with a question about the German Museum in Nuremberg. I'm sure you are familiar with A. Essenwein's two-volume work "QUELLEN ZUR GESCHICHTE DER FEUERWAFFEN" republished in 1969. I'd like very much to know if the Germanischen Museum still has the hackbut pictured in the plates volume, page B VII-e. There are two images on the lower right-side of page B VII identified on the page by letter "e." I would greatly like to obtain photographs of that particular item. Perhaps you have been there and have taken some photographs you could post or send to me? Does the museum still have that weapon? If you don't have photos of it, can you advise me how to go about getting them? You seem to know a lot about hackbuts, so could you tell me where the hackbut pictured in page B VII (e) was made, if you have that information? The reason I'm asking is that I have a hackbut nearly identical to that one which has the initials "J U R" engraved deeply near the breech. Do you know what that marking indicates? I have been trying for many years to identify that marking. Thanks!

5th December 2011, 08:36 PM	#7
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi John, It has been so good to finally meet a third fellowman interested in the same stuff! The haquebut you referred to, illustrated by a line drawing in Essenwein's basic work, is still preserved and on display in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg. I'm attaching the pictures I have taken over two decades, plus a b/w photo taken by the museum about 100 years ago. The piece is about 1.60 m long overall, the barrel length being ca. 1 m. The snap tinder-lock nailed to the stock at the right hand side of the breech may be contemporary. The stock is oak, painted black. The complete piece might weigh about 20 kg (German: doppelter Doppelhaken) and can be dated closely to ca. 1515-20. It was doubtlessly cast and stocked in Nuremberg. The second piece on the images is dated 1534 on the bronze barrel, the present backsight being a Thirty Years War alteration (the original integral backsight at the base of the barrel removed). In order to judge your haquebut, as well as the inscription, I would need to see overall images and close-ups. Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 5th December 2011 at 08:56 PM.