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Title
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An English Bulletbow
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Collection Location
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Olympia Auctions, London
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Date
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Early 17th century
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Location
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Suspected to be From London
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Description
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The wooden stock with ornately decorated with exotic birds and a chase scene with stags, hounds, and hares, along with circular and floral designs creeping between the animals. The birds seem to consist of gold foliage, and the other rope-like designs are made of mother-of-pearl. The iron prod is attached to a pointed pair of stirrup and the string has a pellet pouch, suggesting it was used to shoot pellets instead of bolts. The iron trigger mechanism is surrounded by images of staghorns and hounds. There is also a horn cap at the end of the butt stock. An iron bar consists of a pair of lugs for a spanning device, inlaid with silver to match the trigger mechanism itself.
The crossbow was used as a stonebow by removing the nut which is visible because of the filled cavity, the trigger mechanism, and the folded U-shaped fore-sight.
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Source
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Olympia Auctions
Provenance:
An ancestral Northumbrian family, sold circa 1999
An Important English Private Collection
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Link:
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https://www.olympiaauctions.com/auction/lot/lot-134---a-fine-and-extremely-rare-english-bulletbow-early-17th-century-probably-london/?lot=59160&so=0&st=crossbow&sto=0&au=&ef=&et=&ic=False&sd=0&pp=96&pn=1&g=1
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Crossbow Top Measurements
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77.2 cm tiller
