A unique crossbow collection

[Matchlock]

This belongs to a friend of mine and contains only the finest stuff, such as three Gothic crossbows with horn composite bows, one of them, the earliest, of. ca. 1430, coming from the famous Harold L. Peterson collection and being illustrated in his Book of the Gun. Another, the shortest, made in about 1530, comes from the collection of the Dukes of Brunswick. It is certainly one of the latest composite bows made. The huge Gothic crossbow, its tiller almost completely veneered with white bone plaques, is an abolutely fantastic and important piece of ca. 1500-10.

My friend built a room in the Gothic taste for his collection, using 500 year old furniture and fittings. The atmosphere the ensemble conveys, including that very special smell that only extremely old things have, is absolutely overwhelming. When you enter the room you feel like being on a journey back to the Middle Ages right away.
Here are a few impressions of the arrangement plus some details of special pieces - enjoy!

The especially fine and unique painted quarrel casket dated 1524 was in the famous Vienna collection of Albert Figdor about 100 years ago.

Some of the quarrels even have painted hafts and fletches. You will remember the incendiary arrows from my former post on this subject.

Many of the cranequins are dated; the dates range from 1504 (the oldest known dated cranequin in the world!) over 1532 (both formerly in my collection), 1538, 1540 and 1545 (I may be mixing up two dates). There is also a fine cranequin of ca. 1550, etched overall with animals and hunting scenes amidst foliage.

A very rare 15th century quiver for quarrels is covered with pigskin and a fine tubular quiver for arrows, South Tyrol, early 16th century, is covered with painted leather and iron mounted.

The black pavise bears the Nuremberg coat of arms both painted on the obverse and branded as a proof mark at the reverse - see details.


I must say that I am very proud of the fact that I became both his friend and adviser and that some of his fine pieces were in my collection before I had to concentrate on firearms.

Michael

[Matchlock]

Some details of the the tiller of the large Gothic crossbow of ca. 1500-10, veneered with white bone plaques, and more ...

[fernando]

Hi Michael,
There are no words to express the correct admiration for such scenery.
If i ever entered this room, my eye balls would pop out.
Fernando

[Matchlock]

More ...

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by fernando

Hi Michael,
There are no words to express the correct admiration for such scenery.
If i ever entered this room, my eye balls would pop out.
Fernando

Mine do each time anew, Fernando!

More to come ...

Michael

[Matchlock]

And more ...

The bundle of quarrels bound with an old cord respresent a true sensation:

The accompaying document of 1858 states that they are six of 10,000, found in a ruined section of the former city arsenal in Bamberg/Franconia. The text further cites that in 1435, 10,000 war quarrels were made in Bamberg and the city archive even records the names of the makers and what they got paid!!!

A detailed image shows the singular condition of some quarrel heads retaining much of their original fire blued or blackened surface.

Michael

[Matchlock]

And more ...

[Matchlock]

BTW, that fine Gothic halberd is now in my collection.
I posted it in my thread on halberds.

Michael

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

BTW, that fine Gothic halberd is now in my collection.
I posted it in my thread on halberds.

Michael

How did you manage to convince your friend to spare it ?
Or did he think it looked misplaced in that corner ?
Fernando

[katana]

...."................." (speechless )

Regards David

[Matchlock]

Originally Posted by fernando

How did you manage to convince your friend to spare it ?
Or did he think it looked misplaced in that corner ?
Fernando

He probably did!

No, serious, as I wrote, he got a lot of things from me and we sometimes interchange pieces. Each of us faces times when something really important for our respective collections turns up and has to bought quickly, mostly at auction; as we are not rich people we are then forced to deaccession of things that serve more or less decorative purposes in our specialzied collections. As we are close friends, we inform each other when such a situation arises and mostly the other party then acquires the item that has to go.

It's just that easy - and the best way, too, I guess.

Michael

[Matchlock]

Some better details of the cranequins and the arrangement.

And some images of the 'humble' beginning of his collection, 6-12 years ago.

Michael

[Matchlock]

Some more cranequins.

And details of the late Gothic crossbow, ca. 1530, from the Dukes of Brunswick collection, its tiller mostly veneered with natural staghorn plaques; two views of the underside of the tiller, with the long lever trigger taken off. Rare to see details.

And his three latest crossbows, from left: ca. 1530, ca. 1580 and a stone bow, ca. 1650.

Plus two views of a rarely published medieval illumination from the famous de Milemete manuscript, 1326-7, in the Oxford library.


That's all for tonight, folks.

Michael

[TVV]

Incredible!
Thank you very much, Matchlock, I feel like I have just been given a tour to a very special museum.

[Matchlock]

Thank you, TWW,

It is words like yours that make highly specialized collecting rewarding in the end - in spite of all the costs. And I do not only mean money but most of all time for studying, making endless museum tours, buying hundreds of books and taking thousands of photographs ... It is is a different kind of living requiring many sacrifices in order to be able and collect things that most people would never give a damn about.

I, for example, do not even have a car or a bike. But I have a highly specialized collection.

It is as Jim told me: We follow a different drum. Thank you again, Jim, my friend!

Michael

[Matchlock]

Sorry, TW,

I noticed too late that here was one W too much.

Michael

[fernando]

Originally Posted by Matchlock

Sorry, TW,

I noticed too late that here was one W too much.

Michael

Actually two W's too many, Michael; it's T V V

... Just for the fun

[TVV]

Originally Posted by fernando

Actually two W's too many, Michael; it's T V V

... Just for the fun

Thank you Fernando. Honestly though, the spelling of my nickname is not really important.
Regards,
Teodor

[Matchlock]

Hi, Fernando and Teodor,

That definitely indicates that I need glasses!

Thank you both, pals!

Michael
aka Mich, Michl - both Bavarian - , Mike, Michail, Miguel, Michel ... whatever you like.

[Jim McDougall]

aka Mich, Michl - both Bavarian - , Mike, Michail, Miguel, Michel ... whatever you like.[/QUOTE]


I would submit, Maestro!!!!
For these constantly detailed, beautifully illustrated posts of so many ancient and historic weapons in collection or in museums that many, if not most of us, may never have the opportunity to visit. I know I owe you Michael, my deepest thanks, as do I'm sure the others here........please keep them going !!!

All the very best,
Jim

[M ELEY]

Oh my God! I, like David, am speechless. Thank you for taking all the time to post these fantastic pics, Michael. I have to admit, since Jim has started this discussion board, I have remained green with envy over some of the collections and pieces you people have!!! Just incredible.
Mark

[Matchlock]

Two line drawings, after 1505, from Martin Löffelholz's Nuremberg scrapbook started in 1505. They picture devices to cut slightly curved grooves into cossbow quarrel hafts for insetting wooden or leather flights/fletches to give them a more accurate ballistic spin as they went.

500 year old machine based mass production.

Michael

[Matchlock]

For details and measurements of the Swiss incendiary quarrel illustrated above please see

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=7083

and

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=12224

Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

This cranequin is most remarkable for both its outer and hidden (!) decoration; the presence of the latter, in places normally not accessible, denotes, together with the unusually fine workmanship, that this most certainly was a MASTERPIECE presented to the guild commision in order to get access to the Nuremberg guild of cranequin makers (Windenmacher).

It is preserved complete save the missing belt hook.


It is in my friend's fine collection which you have come to know quite well by now.


The surfaces of both the ratched bar and the gear box are engraved, chiseled, carved and pierced profusely, exhausting almost the full range of characteristic Late Gothic and Early Renaissance ornaments:
foliage terminating in punched Late-Gothic pediculated trefoils and cinquefoils (gestielte Drei- und Fünfpässe), zoomorphic details like a stylized serpent on the ratched bar, and the basis of one of the gear box rivets carved like an animal's head with punched eyes, Gothic tracery, roped friezes (Schnürlbänder) etc.
The underside of the ratched bar is engraved with a stylized hand beneath the claw; this is a characteristcally magic medieval symbol to fend off evil, a so called apotropaion. This makes it the only cranequin I have seen to feature any decoration on the underside!
Its upper side is struck in front of the claw with a maker's mark, two crossed arrows, which is well known as that of an obviously rather prolific Nuremberg workshop which seemingly mostly manufactured cranequins many of which are dated. Dated specimens of their cranequins recorded by the author range from 1532 to 1545 though the earliest cranequins bearing this mark seem to reach back as far as the 1520's.

The earliest recorded dated cranequin bearing the crossed arrows mark, 1532, used to be in the author's collection and has been in that of my friend since (see post #4). He also possesses another undated sample, and one dated 1540, all by this very same workshop (see posts #4 and #7).

In the late 1530's, this workshop which, as the symbol chosen for their mark denotes, was originally specialized in accouterments for crossbows and bows, seems to have tried and explore the field of firearms; two fine matchlock arquebuses have survived, the barrels struck twice with the crossed arrows mark and both dated 1539 (Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg, inv.no. 494, and author's collection).
For both guns see

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showt...=harquebus+1539



Returning to the surface decoration, we note remains of gilding in the chiseled ornaments, in the mark and the pierced tracery, together with remains of bluing in the latter. This leads to the conclusion that the complete surface of the cranequin was originally blued, with the gilt ornamentation resulting in a fine contrast - imagine the colorful impact it must have achieved almost 400 years ago!

My friend has undertaken the toil to dismantle the piece, providing singular insight in the technical 'inner life' of a cranequin, including the gearwheel. There are considerable remains of oil and grease preserved that are hundreds of years old and interestingly have adopted a greenish color, due to the amount of verdigris caused by the copper soldering the single iron parts were connected by.

As is the case with most cranequins by that 'workshop of the crossed arrows', the gear case is not screwed or pinned but riveted; this is why it cannot be dismantled completely, otherwise we would have taken the gearwheel out.

Anyway, enjoy studying this singular masterpiece of arts and crafts: 'high tech' anno 1545!


Best,
Michael

[Matchlock]

More.

[Matchlock]

On it goes.

[Matchlock]

And on.

[Matchlock]

And a few more.

Please note the finely roped decoration on the spindle of the connecting rod and the S shaped pierced tracery which become visible only when taking off the lateral lid of the gearbox!

The original owner of this cranequin may probably have never noticed or seen these hidden details!

The yellowish and brownish discolorations are due to remains of olive oil that are hundreds of years old; the green discoloration, as I explained, is due to verdigris caused by the seams of copper soldering at each single joint of all the single iron parts!

I also wish to point out another zoomorphic and apotropaic decorative detail: one of the riveted bases on top of the gear box, the one opposite the handle, is carved as a stylized animal's head, the eyes struck with a prick punch!


m

[Chris Evans]

Matchlock,

Great posts and fantastic photos Thank you for sharing. I always had a fascination with old crossbows!

Cheers
Chris

[Matchlock]

Thanks, Chris,


So have I.

My fascination with earliest firearms though proved to be stronger from the very beginning, so I finally surrendered to it some 30 years ago ...

To make things perfect, at about the same time I found somebody to carry on and fulfill with perfect dedication that old 'crossbow thing' of mine.


Still I have kept sort of mentoring my old beloved subject ... and all those fine items posted here that used to be mine decades ago!


Cheers from Bavaria,
Michael