80. Auction

Matchlock musket, later reproduction, Spain, Granada, octagonal barrel, fishtail butt

Iron and walnut, matchlock musket, later reproduction in the style of the muskets of the 16th/17th century, muzzleloader, Spain, Granada, calibre 17.5 mm. Octagonal barrel with octagonally reinforced muzzle swell, beneath it the ramrod with conical tip in the stock groove, full walnut stock with wide brass-coloured band in a diamond pattern on the forend. Matchlock with match holder (serpentine) with animal head and match clamp, hinged at the rear of the flat, rectangular lock plate, on the side of the barrel the pan with pivoting, flower-shaped cut-out pan cover, trigger lever with long wire guard, fishtail butt. Used condition commensurate with age, mechanism working. Please inspect. L. 129 cm

The matchlock is the oldest ignition system of handheld firearms: the smouldering match sits in the match holder and is pressed onto the priming powder in the pan by the lever connected to the trigger. In Europe, this system was in use on arquebuses and muskets from the 14th into the 17th century, until the wheellock and the flintlock displaced it and the flintlock became established circa 1700. With its heavy octagonal barrel and broad fishtail butt, the reproduction adopts the form of the infantry weapons of that era.