16-century firearms in stone

[Matchlock]

Two interesting surviving examples of almost exactly the Reutlingen type of Landsknecht snap matchlock arquebuses, their lock mechanisms either missing or replaced, and all parts originally and individually nailed to the stocks without lockplates, each ca. 1470's-1500, and preserved in the Royal Armouires Leeds. Please note that the - characteristically expected! - reinforced muzzle sections are missing, both in the stone sculpture and in the existing originals, a feature limited, though rare, to the period around 1500.

The arquebusier is illustrated in the act of fixing a length of thick matchcord to the clamp (head) of the serpentine!

Best,
Michael