Rare 15th and 16th Century Ball Molds

Matchlock · 19th May 2014, 06:02 PM

Attachments, following:

- one of the oldest known South German ball molds, which I cannot assign to any closer range of dating than ca. 1460-1540; the dyadic mold of brass, and struck with a maker's mark, a Gothic symbol; the handles of wrought iron, and with swamped globular finials - shaped exactly like the long trigger bars on contemporary matchlock arquebuses from the 1st half of the 16th century!

- 2 images of the lock and trigger bar of my Straubing arquebus of ca. 1540 attached

Some detached brass molds of similar type are recorded, mostly with their iron handles missing - see attachments to post #1.
They seem to have continued being made for a very long period of time, and almost unaltered, especially in Eastern Europe, and in the 500 year-old traditional Early Renaissance German style. The sample in my collection, to which I cannot assign any closer range of dating than ca. 1460-1540, however, is the only recorded specimen to be struck with a mark in the German Gothic style.
A very similar founder's mark is on the cast brass/bronze barrel of ca. 1490, re-used with my earliest Landsknecht matchlock arquebus of ca. 1520:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18532

A detail of the maker's mark on the barrel of that important piece is attached to the folllowing post!

Best,
Michael

Matchlock · 29th August 2014, 07:33 PM

More on my rarest early-16th century ball molds.

From all we may conclude from contemporary, and dated, historic sources of illustration, and the very few known actually existing objects, earliest ball molds consisted of two separate halves, and very soon must have been attached by a pin-and-hole system.
Up to at least ca. 1410, they were made of limestone, which got replaced by cast brass from maybe the mid 15th century.
From ca. 1480, the first molds were equipped with wrought-iron handles, uniting the two brass halves for founding balls.
The oldest samples obviously showed two thin iron fingers, each of them attached to a loop cast integrally with the actual mold halves. The latter varied from rectangular and oval to round shapes.
From the late 15th century, the latter seem to have started being made of wrought iron throughout, their older rectangular form still refecting the Late Gothic Medieval taste of style.
The author's thesis is that at least by ca. 1500, the influence of the age of Renaissance lead to oval and rounded mold shapes, equal to the round forms barrels were taking at the turn of the century, and the dawning of the Early Modern Age.

Attachments to follow.

All objects illustrated in this thread, and published by the author, are preserved in
The Michael Trömner Collection
except noted otherwise.

Best,
Michael Trömner

29th August 2014, 07:33 PM	#2
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	More on my rarest early-16th century ball molds. From all we may conclude from contemporary, and dated, historic sources of illustration, and the very few known actually existing objects, earliest ball molds consisted of two separate halves, and very soon must have been attached by a pin-and-hole system. Up to at least ca. 1410, they were made of limestone, which got replaced by cast brass from maybe the mid 15th century. From ca. 1480, the first molds were equipped with wrought-iron handles, uniting the two brass halves for founding balls. The oldest samples obviously showed two thin iron fingers, each of them attached to a loop cast integrally with the actual mold halves. The latter varied from rectangular and oval to round shapes. From the late 15th century, the latter seem to have started being made of wrought iron throughout, their older rectangular form still refecting the Late Gothic Medieval taste of style. The author's thesis is that at least by ca. 1500, the influence of the age of Renaissance lead to oval and rounded mold shapes, equal to the round forms barrels were taking at the turn of the century, and the dawning of the Early Modern Age. Attachments to follow. All objects illustrated in this thread, and published by the author, are preserved in The Michael Trömner Collection except noted otherwise. Best, Michael Trömner Last edited by Matchlock; 29th August 2014 at 07:44 PM.

19th May 2014, 06:02 PM	#1
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Attachments, following: - one of the oldest known South German ball molds, which I cannot assign to any closer range of dating than ca. 1460-1540; the dyadic mold of brass, and struck with a maker's mark, a Gothic symbol; the handles of wrought iron, and with swamped globular finials - shaped exactly like the long trigger bars on contemporary matchlock arquebuses from the 1st half of the 16th century! - 2 images of the lock and trigger bar of my Straubing arquebus of ca. 1540 attached Some detached brass molds of similar type are recorded, mostly with their iron handles missing - see attachments to post #1. They seem to have continued being made for a very long period of time, and almost unaltered, especially in Eastern Europe, and in the 500 year-old traditional Early Renaissance German style. The sample in my collection, to which I cannot assign any closer range of dating than ca. 1460-1540, however, is the only recorded specimen to be struck with a mark in the German Gothic style. A very similar founder's mark is on the cast brass/bronze barrel of ca. 1490, re-used with my earliest Landsknecht matchlock arquebus of ca. 1520: http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18532 A detail of the maker's mark on the barrel of that important piece is attached to the folllowing post! Best, Michael Attached Images Last edited by Matchlock; 20th May 2014 at 02:22 AM.