Wheel-lock Sporting Rifle
- Artist
- Master MS, German
- Date
- first quarter 17th century
- possibly made in
- Dresden, Saxony state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Arms & armor, metalwork
- Collection
- Decorative Arts and Design
- Current Location
- On View, Gallery 138
- Dimensions
- 52 5/8 x 7 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. (133.7 x 18.4 x 8.3 cm)
weight: 11 lb. 4 oz. (5.1 kg) - Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 75:1939
NOTES
The decorative figures and imagery related to hunting on this rifle suggest that it was made for that sport. On the cheek side of the rifle butt is an inlaid scene of a boar hunt very similar to those in 16th-century German prints. Such fine rifles were highly prized by nobility, who owned them in quantity as personal hunting arms or provided them to important guests in large-scale hunts.
Provenance
- 1926
Princes von Liechtenstein, Castle Vaduz, Austria [1]
1926/11/19-20
In auction of the Liechtenstein collection "European Arms and Armor Mainly XV, XVI, & XVII Centuries, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience," American Art Association, New York, NY, November 19-20, 1926, lot no. 212
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), Beverly Hills, CA, USA
- 1939
Parish-Watson & Co. Inc., New York, NY
1939 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Parish-Watson & Co., Inc. [2]
Notes:
[1] This provenance is based on notes provided by scholar Walter Karcheski Jr. Karcheski also notes that 75:1939 might have originated in the Gewehrkammer of the Electors of Saxony in the city of Dresden, but evidence supporting this claim could not be obtained [SLAM document files].
[2] The Parish-Watson invoice dated June 30, 1939 lists twenty-one objects (including 75:1939) and identifies them as previously belonging to the William Randolph Hearst collection. The relationship between Hearst and Parish-Watson is unknown. 75:1939 is designated on the invoice as lot 1033 art. 142 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 8, 1939.
Princes von Liechtenstein, Castle Vaduz, Austria [1]
1926/11/19-20
In auction of the Liechtenstein collection "European Arms and Armor Mainly XV, XVI, & XVII Centuries, Including Artistic and Rare Specimens from Princely Provenience," American Art Association, New York, NY, November 19-20, 1926, lot no. 212
William Randolph Hearst (1863-1951), Beverly Hills, CA, USA
- 1939
Parish-Watson & Co. Inc., New York, NY
1939 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, purchased from Parish-Watson & Co., Inc. [2]
Notes:
[1] This provenance is based on notes provided by scholar Walter Karcheski Jr. Karcheski also notes that 75:1939 might have originated in the Gewehrkammer of the Electors of Saxony in the city of Dresden, but evidence supporting this claim could not be obtained [SLAM document files].
[2] The Parish-Watson invoice dated June 30, 1939 lists twenty-one objects (including 75:1939) and identifies them as previously belonging to the William Randolph Hearst collection. The relationship between Hearst and Parish-Watson is unknown. 75:1939 is designated on the invoice as lot 1033 art. 142 [SLAM document files]. Minutes of the Administrative Board of Control of the City Art Museum, June 8, 1939.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.