FIRST HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY

Details

A FINE ITALIAN CHISELLED STEEL WHEEL-LOCK SPANNER AND TURNSCREW
FIRST HALF OF THE 17TH CENTURY
T-shaped made entirely of iron, the cross bar chiseled with intertwined scaled maned monsters with snarling teeth on each end (the openings of slightly differing sizes), the stem with burled tree and acanthus leaves around a swiveled suspension hanger, transforming into two intertwined snakes holding the turnscrew head engraved with acanthus leaves on each side of the base.
9 ½ in.
The successful bidder will be responsible for arranging their own shipments or collecting in-person and will be responsible for applicable New York taxes.

Provenance

With Charles H. Moses, 1967.
Acquired by Russell Barnett Aitken from the above.

Literature

F. Theodore Dexter, The Weapons Art Museum, cat. no. 1, 1955, no. 219, p. 22.

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Elizabeth Seigel Vice President, Specialist, Head of Private and Iconic Collections

eseigel@christies.com +1 212 484 4812

Lot Essay

A spanner was an essential tool for every musketeer or hunter armed with a wheel-lock gun, whose complex spring-operated ignition mechanism needed to be wound –or spanned--like a clock in order to function. On this example, the spanner openings are of different sizes to account for the lack of standard gauges of the wheel spindle over which they fitted. Here the spanner is combined with ‘turnscrew', or screwdriver, another essential instrument for maintaining a gun. The transformation of this utilitarian object into a minor work of sculpture can be credited to an Italian craftsman, probably from Brescia, which was a renowned center for firearms manufacture and iron chiseling.

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