Keywords: German - Wheellock pistol with inlaid grotesque masks - Walters 51441.jpg The proportions and balance of this pistol including the fishtail butt curving around the hand are visually pleasing and also make this 3 lb 5 3 oz gun easier to handle The relative crudeness of the manufacture including the inlaid decoration taken from a pattern book indicates that the pistol was made for a cavalryman as opposed to an aristocratic officer There are two marks stamped on the pistol the maker's mark which although found on other guns has not been identified; and the control mark on the barrel indicating that it has been inspected for quality in Nuremberg between 1575 1590 steel or iron wood walnut bone or antler and engraved mother-of-pearl inlay; parts replaced L cm 57 accession number 51 441 2093 Thewalt Sale Cologne 1903 no 1697 Henry Griffith Keasbey New York date and mode of acquisition unknown Sale American Art Association New York December 5 1924 no 139 Henry Walters city Baltimore Walters Art Museum Henry Walters Acquired by Henry Walters 1924 place of origin Nuremberg Germany Walters Art Museum license Baroque art in the Walters Art Museum Weapons in the Walters Art Museum German art in the Walters Art Museum Weapons of Germany Wheellock pistols |