Combination Spanner-Primer Flask-Screwdriver with the Coat of Arms of the Haller von Hallerstein and Nüzel von Sunderspuhl Families
c. 1600
- Medium
- Brass, gilded and engraved; iron; steel; and mother-of-pearl
- Classification
- Arms
- Dimensions
- H.: 22.2 cm (8 3/4 in.)
- Culture
- Nuremberg
- Museum
- Art Institute of Chicago, Applied Arts of Europe
- Credit line
- George F. Harding Collection
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Art Institute of Chicago
About this work
A wheellock mechanism could not be used without a spanner, or winding key. Often this essential tool was combined with others to make loading a long gun or pistol more convenient. Here, the handle doubles as a powder flask, with a nozzle on top to prime the pan of the lock with fine powder; at the base is a screwdriver to take the gun apart for cleaning.
Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0
