Snaphaunce Hunting Rifle

Snaphaunce Hunting Rifle

Jonas Schertiger the Younger

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This rifle exemplifies the diverse influences shaping firearms design in eighteenth-century Sweden. Its slender proportions and small-caliber barrel are modeled after the Silesian Tschinke rifle; the prominent cheek stock is typically German, as is the use of inset brass decoration, yet the flat-faced lock copies French models. The lock mechanism, however, is unmistakably Swedish, as the snaphaunce lock was favored in Scandinavia over the wheellock and flintlock commonly used on the Continent. A gunstocker by trade, Jonas Schertiger the Younger was a member of the Stockholm cabinetmakers' guild. His name and the date of manufacture are prominently engraved on the brass inlay on the cheek stock. A blank escutcheon surmounted by a royal crown on the sideplate suggests that this gun was intended for the hunting cabinet of King Frederick I of Sweden (reigned 1720–51).

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The principal goals of the Arms and Armor Department are to collect, preserve, research, publish, and exhibit distinguished examples representing the art of the armorer, swordsmith, and gunmaker. Arms and armor have been a vital part of virtually all cultures for thousands of years, pivotal not only in conquest and defense, but also in court pageantry and ceremonial events. Throughout time the best armor and weapons have represented the highest artistic and technical capabilities of the society and period in which they were made, forming a unique aspect of both art history and material culture.