Earliest Arquebusier's and Musketeer's Trapezoidal Powder Flasks, ca. 1530-1590

Matchlock · 18th March 2014, 08:13 PM

Hi Martin,

I found the perfect flask to go with your snap-tinderlock arquebus; it is part of an arquebusier's bandelier, early to mid-16th c., in the reserve collection of the Historisches Museum Basel.
On the same bandelier, together with six small tinned-iron and leather covered powder measures, is a contemporary wooden flask, the leather tooled with the city arms of Basel, an episcopal staff. This is the earliest type of trapezoid flask I have ever seen, with very straight sides, just like the High Gothic quivers for crossbow bolts!

The more curved the sides are the later is the flask but this of course is relative: the earliest trapezoid flasks seem to have appeared in the 1520's (we see them on Heller's painting of the Battle of Pavia 1525), and again on Melchior Feselen's Battle of Alesia, 1533, when they still had straight sides; then the curving became more notable and soon reached its climax, as did the contemporary buttstocks of the Nuremberg muskets (dated samples of 1567 and 1568 in the Landeszeughaus Graz, Austria). So there was no real stylistic development to trapezoid flasks after ca. 1570-80, and as I said, their production generally seems to have ceased by the end of the 16th century.

My rough-and ready rule for dating a trapezoid flask has always been to look at the curving of the buttstock of a contemporary arquebus or musket because the gun and flask followed the same stylistic principles and had to match in style.

I attached some early 16th c. artwork depicting both powder and water flasks, and a finely crafted drinking flask in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM) Nuremberg, the leather carved with Late Gothic foliage.

As you will see, what all these Early Renaissance flasks had in common was the small stand at the base, and so does the flask in Basel.

Please see also
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18294

Best,
Michael

18th March 2014, 08:13 PM	#34
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi Martin, I found the perfect flask to go with your snap-tinderlock arquebus; it is part of an arquebusier's bandelier, early to mid-16th c., in the reserve collection of the Historisches Museum Basel. On the same bandelier, together with six small tinned-iron and leather covered powder measures, is a contemporary wooden flask, the leather tooled with the city arms of Basel, an episcopal staff. This is the earliest type of trapezoid flask I have ever seen, with very straight sides, just like the High Gothic quivers for crossbow bolts! The more curved the sides are the later is the flask but this of course is relative: the earliest trapezoid flasks seem to have appeared in the 1520's (we see them on Heller's painting of the Battle of Pavia 1525), and again on Melchior Feselen's Battle of Alesia, 1533, when they still had straight sides; then the curving became more notable and soon reached its climax, as did the contemporary buttstocks of the Nuremberg muskets (dated samples of 1567 and 1568 in the Landeszeughaus Graz, Austria). So there was no real stylistic development to trapezoid flasks after ca. 1570-80, and as I said, their production generally seems to have ceased by the end of the 16th century. My rough-and ready rule for dating a trapezoid flask has always been to look at the curving of the buttstock of a contemporary arquebus or musket because the gun and flask followed the same stylistic principles and had to match in style. I attached some early 16th c. artwork depicting both powder and water flasks, and a finely crafted drinking flask in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum (GNM) Nuremberg, the leather carved with Late Gothic foliage. As you will see, what all these Early Renaissance flasks had in common was the small stand at the base, and so does the flask in Basel. Please see also http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18294 Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 18th March 2014 at 11:14 PM.