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Title
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16th Century Crossbow
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HCA Identifier
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A1033
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Collection Location
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Collection The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
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Date
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c. 1500
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Location
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Germany or Spain
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Description
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"Curved steel bow with two indecipherable marks on the inner surface secured to the stock by an iron bridle with a metal stirrup at the front for the foot. Long thin dark wooden stock with small diamond shaped inlays of horn on the top. Terminal for the bolt. Walrus ivory nut. Original bowstring. Long lever trigger. At the end of the butt a small portion of wood has broken off. “On the underside, in front of the trigger-lever at the place where the stock is gripped by the left hand, the surface is roughened with fine parallel ridges in low relief. On the underside at the forward end is an iron hook, probably for suspension, and farther back is a short hook or claw for use when bending the bow with a cord and pulley.
The nut is without an axle of any sort. It is retained by being larger than the hole of entry, except when it is rolled back until the forward edge of the cord-slot coincides with the rear lip of the hole, when the nut can be lifted out. The lever-trigger acts directly on the underside of the nut.”
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Source
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Collection The Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN
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Crossbow Top Measurements
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Length: 100 cm
Span: 45.8 cm
Weight: 2.64 kg
