Cartridge Box

1570/80

German, probably Brunswick

To aid in loading pistols from horseback, a premeasured amount of black powder and a lead ball were prepared in cylindrical paper cartridges. This box suspended from the shooter’s belt and could contain four such cartridges. The shooter would tear the paper, pour the powder charge down the barrel, and tamp the bullet over the charge.

Cartridge boxes were often ornamented with figures and coats of arms. This one is startlingly embossed with two lovers, a subject frequently associated with shooting in this period.

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

Title: Cartridge Box
Place: Brunswick (Object Probably 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.: Made 1570–1575
Medium: Steel, iron and wood
Dimensions: H.: 12 cm (4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line: George F. Harding Collection
Reference Number: 1982.2289
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/106427/manifest.json

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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.