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ExhibitionsDutch weapons from the17th centuryIn the 17th century, the Netherlands was one of the mostimportant centres for the manufacture of hand-heldfirearms; not only for personal use but also for export. Thearms industry in this period was an extremely profitable lineof business and many of Europe’s sovereigns foundconsidered Dutch pistols to be the highest quality.The weapons are characterised by both the simplicity oftheir design and their luxurious finishes, and were oftendecorated with beautiful depictions of flowers, animals andhunting scenes.A specialism that developed mainly in Maastricht wasthe manufacture of pistols with ivory stocks, of which theLegermuseum currently has the largest collection in theworld.The world’s ‘mostbeautiful’ firearmsIn 2006, the Army Museum acquired a unique collection ofhistorical hand-held firearms from the private collection ofMr H. Visser (1923-2006). The collection of 700 firearms andrelated objects gives a good idea of the scope and significanceof the Dutch arms industry between the 17th and 19thcenturies. And above all, each item is a traditionally craftedproduct, an icon of pre-industrial design. It is, until now, thesingle biggest purchase in the history of the Legermuseum,and with this collection the museum can consider itself oneof the most important in the world in the field of antiquefirearms. The world’s ‘most beautiful’ firearms can beadmired in the exhibition until 2010.Acquisition of the CenturyTogether with the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, which hadalready acquired part of the collection, the Legermuseumhas now purchased the entire collection of 17th centuryfirearms from Mr H. Visser. The collection has thereby beenadded to the Rijkscollectie. The purchase was partly madepossible through the support of the Mondriaan Stichting, theVSB Fund, the Rembrandt Society, the Dr Hendrik Muller’sVaderlandsch Fund and the M.A.O.C. Gravin van BylandtStichting. It is the single biggest purchase in the history ofthe Legermuseum.PublicationA special publication containing wonderful photographs ofthe collection is also available at the exhibition. Thisexclusive book is available in the Legermuseum shop orfrom the internet, www.legermuseum.nl.Treasury for visitorsThe collection on display consists of 700 differentobjects, such as pistols with ivory stocks, muskets,miniature weapons and beautifully carved powderhorns. One of the most exceptional pieces is thepair of children’s flint pistols that King William IIIreceived from his father as a gift for his tenthbirthday in 1827.What is most striking are the exotic andexpensive materials embellishing many of theseobjects, such as ivory, ebony, silver andtortoiseshell. Moreover, a great many of the piecesare fashioned with decorative curls and images.Most of these weapons served as status symbolsfor their owners and were not actually made to beused in battle. The pieces are displayed in atreasury-like environment.ISSUE 02 MAGAZINE 15