Combination Spanner-Primer Flask-Screwdriver with the Coat of Arms of the Haller von Hallerstein and Nüzel von Sunderspuhl Families

c. 1600

South German, Nuremberg

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.

Status: On View, Gallery 239
Department: Applied Arts of Europe

Title: Combination Spanner-Primer Flask-Screwdriver with the Coat of Arms of the Haller von Hallerstein and Nüzel von Sunderspuhl Families
Place: Nuremberg (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1595–1605
Medium: Brass, gilded and engraved; iron; steel; and mother-of-pearl
Dimensions: H.: 22.2 cm (8 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: George F. Harding Collection
Reference Number: 1982.2284
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/106421/manifest.json

Walter Karchieski, “Arms and Armor in the Art Institute of Chicago” (Art Institute of Chicago/Little, Brown, and Company, 1995), p. 103 (ill.)

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Combination Spanner-Primer Flask-Screwdriver with the Coat of Arms of the Haller von Hallerstein and Nüzel von Sunderspuhl Families

On View

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.