Wheellock Puffer Pistols

Balthasar Dressler

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The barrels, locks, and other metal elements of these pistols are undecorated, allowing the intricate inlaid wood ornamentation of the gunstocks to stand out. The dense web of scrolling foliage inhabited by owls, other animals, and masks was created by carving recesses into the wood, and filling them with minute pieces of carved antler, a painstaking process that also required great technical prowess. Stocks decorated in this style are generally believed to originate from Thuringia on account of an example in the Historical Museum in Bern, Switzerland, which is signed "Klaus Hirt gunstock maker in Wasungen," a Thuringian town West of Suhl, a major center for the manufacture of military firearms.

Arms and Armor

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art