Powder flask with Samson and the Lion
Powder Flask
1574 (dated)
1574 (dated)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This powder flask is made of carved staghorn with metal mounts and is made by an unknown artist in France in 1574. The flask is decorated with a scene depicting Samson killing the lion. Powder flasks or horns are portable containers of wood, horn, metal, leather or ceramic used to hold the priming powder or gunpowder for firearms. They normally terminated in a metal nozzle which also served as a powder measure, closed by a plug or spring cap, and are often highly decorated.
Gunpowder began to be transported in pouches or more rigid containers at about the same date as the introduction of hand-held firearms in the fifteenth century. Such flask might have a military purpose, or be used for hunting. The very decorative pieces were above all a singn of rank, and at the same time aesthetic objects in their own right, and probably never actually functioned as containers for gunpowder.
Gunpowder began to be transported in pouches or more rigid containers at about the same date as the introduction of hand-held firearms in the fifteenth century. Such flask might have a military purpose, or be used for hunting. The very decorative pieces were above all a singn of rank, and at the same time aesthetic objects in their own right, and probably never actually functioned as containers for gunpowder.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts.
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| Title | Powder flask with Samson and the Lion (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Carved stag horn with metal mounts |
| Brief description | Powder flask, carved staghorn, depicting Samson killing the lion, France, dated 1574 |
| Physical description | Powder flask made of carved stag horn, the terminal pieces having become detached, decorated with a scene depicting Samson killing the lion, with a cityscape behind. Inscribed. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | 'FORCE.1574.SANSON' (at the top; ) |
| Object history | The horn is likely to be French because of the spelling of the name 'Sanson'. Analogous works are in the Louvre, Paris. Bought from the Bernal Collection at Christie's, London, 28 March 1855, lot 2520. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This powder flask is made of carved staghorn with metal mounts and is made by an unknown artist in France in 1574. The flask is decorated with a scene depicting Samson killing the lion. Powder flasks or horns are portable containers of wood, horn, metal, leather or ceramic used to hold the priming powder or gunpowder for firearms. They normally terminated in a metal nozzle which also served as a powder measure, closed by a plug or spring cap, and are often highly decorated. Gunpowder began to be transported in pouches or more rigid containers at about the same date as the introduction of hand-held firearms in the fifteenth century. Such flask might have a military purpose, or be used for hunting. The very decorative pieces were above all a singn of rank, and at the same time aesthetic objects in their own right, and probably never actually functioned as containers for gunpowder. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 2233-1855 |
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| Record created | August 9, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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