vraag:
The National Maritime Museums of Sweden has carried out an underwater archaeological survey of a 17th century shipwreck in the Stockholm archipelago. During this survey we found a flintlock pistol and a musket (se attached pictures). My question is if you can say anything about the provenience and the age of these weapons?
antwoord:
On basis of the illustrations, the following might be remarked: Both stocks are made for flintlock weapons. The flintlock mechanism didn't come into use until about 1625. It is quite difficult to determine the guns without the mechanisms, since these provide the most information about the dating and whereabouts of the pieces. The slim shape of the pistolstock certainly points out a Dutch origine from about the middle of the seventeenth century. The pistol can with certainty, also on basis of the shape of the pommel, be dated 1640-1670.
It is more diffucult for the musket, but I would think that this dates from about the same period. It is not possible for us to give a more detailed indication of the provenance and date of the musket. Of course one has to consider that the Dutch style of firearms was internationally regarded highly in this period, and that the Dutch style was followed elsewhere in Europe as well. It is also a known fact that in the seventeenth century the Dutch gunmakers were working in Sweden as well. This is proven by the collections in the Livrustkammer in Stockholm and in the museum in Skokloster. If you would like to receive more information concerning these guns, you can always contact us or (perhaps easier for you?) our colleagues in the abovementioned Swedish museums.
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