1717) RARE VENETIAN MILITARY MATCHLOCK RIFLE CIRCA 1550: Almost certainly from the Armory of the Doges Palace, Venice.
It is adorned with a myriad of maker marks, inventory control numbers, and talismanic symbols. Untouched and unrestored. It is a rare and unique piece that would be an exceptional addition to any collection or museum. The stories this rifle could tell.
Introduction: Early military matchlock rifles are much more difficult to find in the collectors market, even though they greatly outnumbered decorated hunting rifles. Why? Because military match locks were not decorated, they were designed as utilitarian weapons of war with one objective: to kill the person they were shooting at.
Discussion: The matchlock was the natural progression from the Medieval cannon that permitted the user to fire his rifle without losing concentration on his target. This was accomplished by simply pulling a lever attached at the other point called a serpentine with a burning piece of flammable cord or twine that made contact with the rifle’s gunpowder via the flash pan thus igniting the priming powder. The flash from the priming powder transversed to the main gunpowder charge in the barrel’s breech.
The matchlock was highly effective, easy to teach how to use, simple and inexpensive to build, and had a simple, reliable mechanism. As a result, in Europe, it survived from 1411 to 1750, when it was finally trumped by the flintlock. The fact that the matchlock had a working life of almost 350 years speaks volumes about its effectiveness and importance during the medieval and Renaissance periods.
Description: The firing mechanism appears to still work flawlessly as the day it was made. Constructed with a heavy octagonal barrel containing a smooth bore, the breech chamber has a deep makers mark ‘M’, original rear and front sight. Pan with spark arrester on the right side, match-lock with rectangular plate, marked ‘LB’ at the center, inventory control number XII, original wooden stock with fishtail butt, the entire stock marked with various talismanic symbols and letters. Iron trigger. Iron ramrod probably replaced. Stock probably with some small missing parts and defects as you would expect from an untouched Renaissance military history time capsule. Total Length 129 cm. Caliber 17 mm.
Conclusion: All collections should have one item representative of the period. Even if you’re not a gun collector, I believe you will like this rifle. Who knows what this rifle has seen and experienced over its 450 years of life? The stories it could tell. They can only be original once, and this one is, even after all these years. ACT-NOW, this is a very collectible piece that should find a new home very quickly!!!*
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