Radschlossgewehr mit Tucher-Wappen

Description

The elaborately decorated wheel lock rifle is of the "German" type, which is characterised by a strikingly asymmetrical, ergonomic stock butt. It was particularly popular with hunting rifles from around 1580 until the end of the 17th century. The ramrod is just as well preserved as the piston shutter cover which can be locked with a snap lock. The polygonal run is not drawn. The shaft is carved with a shell motif underneath. Rich leg inlays cover the stock, figurative hunting animal motifs predominate, supplemented by mythical creatures, genii and vegetables. A hunter with hunting horn stands out as a single figure. The lockplate is decorated with the scene of St. George fighting the dragon in a somewhat sketchy steel engraving, and the rooster and feather are decorated with iron-cut mermaids. A large Tucher coat of arms is inlaid in the leg and dark wood on the cheekpiece.

The rifle dates from the late period of the so-called "wheel lock technology", which was probably developed in Nuremberg around 1520 and quickly spread throughout Europe. Its mechanism allows the shot to be fired by friction and sparking by means of a tensioned, grooved wheel and a flint. As a technically sophisticated firing system, wheel lock rifles were expensive, prone to defects in practice and therefore more common in the field of luxury hunting or sport shooting. The coat of arms identifies the rifle as an old family estate. But it is no longer possible to determine which Tucher it actually belonged to.