Rifle ( ) |
Artist | Anonymous ( Turkey) Unknown author |
Title | Rifle |
Description | English: Referencing the elite pastimes of hunting and writing, this ceremonial jeweled rifle set includes a dagger, pen case, penholder with pen, penknife, cleaner, and a spoon-all conveniently housed within the rifle butt. Penknives were important elements in the calligrapher's toolset, and their handles were often elaborately decorated. The hardness of the reed used for pens throughout Islamic lands required a good blade to make a clean cut. The small spoon was used to put black powder into the flash pan in preparation for firing the rifle. The imperial monogram (tughra) of the Ottoman ruler Sultan Mahmud I (r. 1730-54) is inscribed in diamonds inside the hinged panel of the rifle butt. The artist Muhammad and the rifle's owner, Ahmad Khan, who had possession of the rifle at some point, are also named. |
Date | 1732 (Early Modern) |
Medium | rifle: steel, wood, gold, gilded silver, gilded brass, silver, nephrite, diamonds, emeralds, rubies (or spinels); dagger: steel inlaid with gold, rubies, and beryls |
Dimensions | height: 24.8 cm (9.7 in); width: 139.7 cm (55 in); depth: 7 cm (2.7 in) dimensions QS:P2048,24.8U174728 dimensions QS:P2049,139.7U174728 dimensions QS:P5524,7U174728 |
Collection | institution QS:P195,Q210081 |
Accession number | 51.84 |
Place of creation | Turkey |
Object history | - R. S. Pardo, Constantinople [date and mode of acquisition unknown]
- Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1903 [mode of acquisition unknown]
- 1931: bequeathed to Walters Art Museum by Henry Walters
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Credit line | Acquired by Henry Walters, 1903 |
Inscriptions | [Translation] (on barrel) What God wills. (on flintlock) Work of Muhammad; its owner is Ahmad Khan. (tughra hidden under panel in stock is that of Sultan Mahmud I, r. 1730-1754) |
Source | Walters Art Museum: Home page Info about artwork |
Permission (Reusing this file) | |
Other versions | |