Priming Flask
1580-1600 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This primimg flask was used to dispense fine gunpowder into the priming pans of firearms. A measured quantity of powder was drawn off by using the spring-loaded cap on the nozzle.
Firearms became more and more sophisticated during the 16th-century. They required a number of accessories to load and operate them. The main charge, placed in the barrel with the shot, was carried in a powder flask. Smaller priming flasks like this contained fine-grain powder for priming the pans of wheel-lock firearms. This flask has two suspension rings for attaching to a bandolier, a type of sling worn over the shoulder or around the waist, from which hung the various accessories required for a weapon including spanners for the mechanism, measured charges, powder flasks and priming flasks.
Like the pistols and guns that accompanied them, decorated flasks were costly items. Inlaid firearms and flasks reflected the owners' status and were kept as much for display as for use. Daggers, firearms, gunpowder flasks and stirrups worn with the most expensive clothing projected an image of the fashionable man-at-arms. The most finely crafted items were worn as jewellery.
Firearms became more and more sophisticated during the 16th-century. They required a number of accessories to load and operate them. The main charge, placed in the barrel with the shot, was carried in a powder flask. Smaller priming flasks like this contained fine-grain powder for priming the pans of wheel-lock firearms. This flask has two suspension rings for attaching to a bandolier, a type of sling worn over the shoulder or around the waist, from which hung the various accessories required for a weapon including spanners for the mechanism, measured charges, powder flasks and priming flasks.
Like the pistols and guns that accompanied them, decorated flasks were costly items. Inlaid firearms and flasks reflected the owners' status and were kept as much for display as for use. Daggers, firearms, gunpowder flasks and stirrups worn with the most expensive clothing projected an image of the fashionable man-at-arms. The most finely crafted items were worn as jewellery.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Steel, etched and blackened, wood and leather. |
| Brief description | Trapezoid priming flask with wooden body mounted in leather, and steel mounts, etched and blackened, Dresden, ca. 1580 |
| Physical description | Trapezoid priming flask with wooden body mounted in leather, and steel mounts, etched and blackened. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Part of the equipment of the Electoral guard of Saxony, from the Dresden Rustkammer, Germany (Saxony) |
| Historical context | This primimg flask was used to dispense fine gunpowder into the priming pans of firearms. A measured quantity of powder was drawn off by using the spring-loaded cap on the nozzle. Firearms became more and more sophisticated during the 16th-century. They required a number of accessories to load and operate them. The main charge, placed in the barrel with the shot, was carried in a powder flask. Smaller priming flasks like this contained fine-grain powder for priming the pans of wheel-lock firearms. This flask has two suspension rings for attaching to a bandolier, a type of sling worn over the shoulder or around the waist, from which hung the various accessories required for a weapon including spanners for the mechanism, measured charges, powder flasks and priming flasks. Like the pistols and guns that accompanied them, decorated flasks were costly items. Inlaid firearms and flasks reflected the owners' status and were kept as much for display as for use. Daggers, firearms, gunpowder flasks and stirrups worn with the most expensive clothing projected an image of the fashionable man-at-arms. The most finely crafted items were worn as jewellery. |
| Summary | This primimg flask was used to dispense fine gunpowder into the priming pans of firearms. A measured quantity of powder was drawn off by using the spring-loaded cap on the nozzle. Firearms became more and more sophisticated during the 16th-century. They required a number of accessories to load and operate them. The main charge, placed in the barrel with the shot, was carried in a powder flask. Smaller priming flasks like this contained fine-grain powder for priming the pans of wheel-lock firearms. This flask has two suspension rings for attaching to a bandolier, a type of sling worn over the shoulder or around the waist, from which hung the various accessories required for a weapon including spanners for the mechanism, measured charges, powder flasks and priming flasks. Like the pistols and guns that accompanied them, decorated flasks were costly items. Inlaid firearms and flasks reflected the owners' status and were kept as much for display as for use. Daggers, firearms, gunpowder flasks and stirrups worn with the most expensive clothing projected an image of the fashionable man-at-arms. The most finely crafted items were worn as jewellery. |
| Associated objects | |
| Bibliographic reference | Patterson, Angus, Fashion and Armour in Renaissance Europe: Proud Lookes and Brave Attire, V&A Publishing, London, 2009, ISBN 9781851775811, p. 77, ill. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 171-1894 |
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| Record created | March 26, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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