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Articles Further practice showed that the howitzer were a bit more effective than usual guns in firing case-shot, but normal guns could also fire grape and solid shot. Attempts to create a special oval shot (like a Rugby ball) failed. Nevertheless, Shuvalov had perfect confidence in his brainchild and they remained in the army up to his death in 1762. As far as I know, three Shuvalov howitzers can be seen; one in Sevastopol near the Black Sea Fleet Museum (by someone’s oversight cemented into the base upside down) and at least two pieces in the Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps in St. Petersburg. One of them is inside the museum and the other in the open air. By the way, in the same place among a whole host of various ordnance, there is one more interesting gun with a rectangular bore. There are mottos on its barrel: ‘PRO GLORIA ET PATRIA’ and ‘ULTIMA RATIO REGIS’ typical for Prussian guns of the reign of Frederick II. However, in the Russian sources I have not found any mention of Prussian ordnance with rectangular bore of that period. I will be grateful if someone share his opinion on this gun or let me know about other examples of Shuvalov howitzer. Please contact me on fort@optima.com.ua 56 MAGAZINE ISSUE 06
A secret weapon in the collection of the Rijksmuseum? Eveline Sint Nicolaas Curator of Arms and Armour, Rijksmuseum During the preparation and selection of material for the arms & armour room in the new Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, opening autumn 2013, I came across a wonderful object in our collection. It is a ring with a small flintlock clasped between two pieces of rock-crystal. The ring is summarily described in the museum inventory and has not been shown in the galleries for decades. A first investigation into the ring and possible comparable jewels has not yielded any result. I would therefore like to ask my colleagues for help with identifying this intriguing object. The date in the inventory says 1700-1800, but looking at the shape of the lock plate it might be dated between 1650 and 1670. Perhaps this could even be pinned down if we would take apart the ring to see if the flintlock has a bridle. The quality of the lock makes me think that it was made to actually work. The mounting of the ring has a cutaway at the point of the sear-lever and one on top for the cock. This cut-away leads to the front but not the whole way till the mainspring. It has a small notch, of which the function is not The question is, are we dealing with a pure curiosity that the owner liked to show off, in other words a wunderkammer-object, or is the ring a secret weapon with a lethal character? clear. One would expect a cutaway at the front to make it possible to fit a small barrel. In that case the owner could put on his ring, cock the lock with his other hand and subsequently shoot. I have no idea how dangerous such a shot would have been and it will certainly have depended on the load. But the problem is, there isn’t a possibility to attach a barrel at the level of the mainspring since the mounting is closed at this point of the ring. Articles The finishing of the lock mechanism is done with great care. Parts of the lock plate have been blued and there is a small flint clasped in the cock. The suspicion that it is a very special object is underlined by its provenance. This goes back to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities, one of the predecessors of the Rijksmuseum. It probably goes back even further and is related to one of the Stadholders of the Republic in the 17th Century. Looking at the possible date of the ring there are several candidates: William II (1626–50), William III (1650–1702), Henry Casimir II (1657–96) and William Frederic of Nassau-Dietz (1613–64). Of all these members of the House of Orange- Nassau other personal belongings found their way to the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities. The question is, are we dealing with a pure curiosity that the owner liked to show off, in other words a wunderkammer-object, or is the ring a secret weapon with a lethal character? Suggestions and reactions are very welcome and can be sent to: Eveline Sint Nicolaas, curator of Arms and Armour Rijksmuseum PO BOX 74888 1070 DN Amsterdam The Netherlands + 31 206747212 (tel) + 31 20 6747001 (fax) e.sintnicolaas@rijksmuseum.nl Inventory number of the ring: NG-NM-868 ISSUE 06 MAGAZINE 57
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ISSUE 06 APRIL 2011 MAGAZINE 26 Uni
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Welcome to the sixth edition of MAG
Page 5 and 6: congress in Rio de Janeiro in 2008
Page 7 and 8: In 2011, the Universalmuseum Joanne
Page 9 and 10: Friday, 23rd September 2011 09:00-1
Page 11 and 12: century. We encouraged our colleagu
Page 13 and 14: Camouflage takes centre stage F rom
Page 15 and 16: National Treasures From arms and ar
Page 17 and 18: Upcoming conferences The Wars of th
Page 19 and 20: News from the National Museum of th
Page 21 and 22: the mame of soldiers wives, that I
Page 23 and 24: http://www.nam.ac.uk/exhibitions/sp
Page 25 and 26: ‘The Unknown Warrior’ Royal Eng
Page 27 and 28: US milk. These were found in Poland
Page 29 and 30: Publications Arms and Armour of Kni
Page 31 and 32: Martin Roemers Kabul, Dutch troops
Page 33 and 34: dimension to the Web that allows fo
Page 35 and 36: Royal Engineers Museum, Gillingham,
Page 37 and 38: The project brings together and ope
Page 39 and 40: The database of the Armoury of the
Page 41 and 42: The Basiliscoe Mercury Ruth Rhynas
Page 43 and 44: active presences on Twitter and Fli
Page 45 and 46: Articles Art of the possible: Trans
Page 47 and 48: Early Engineers Showcased The Herit
Page 49 and 50: Pieces of the Weald in Oman Ruth Rh
Page 51 and 52: oth sides of a war. Britain and Por
Page 53 and 54: Another, in poorer condition intend
Page 55: The ‘secret’ Shuvalov howitzer
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