id: 95989 accession number: 1916.1726 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1726 updated: 2022-01-04 14:38:59.729000 Pellet Crossbow, 1600s. South Germany (?), 17th century. Wood, inlaid with stag horn; flax cord; steel with traces of paint and gilding; overall: 82.6 cm (32 1/2 in.); bow: 59.4 cm (23 3/8 in.); butt: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.1726 title: Pellet Crossbow title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1600s creation date earliest: 1600 creation date latest: 1699 current location: 210A Armor Court creditline: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance copyright: --- culture: South Germany (?), 17th century technique: wood, inlaid with stag horn; flax cord; steel with traces of paint and gilding department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Arms & Armor type: Arms and Armor find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 82.6 cm (32 1/2 in.); Bow: 59.4 cm (23 3/8 in.); Butt: 9.5 cm (3 3/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: Armor Court Reinstallation opening date: 1998-09-10T00:00:00 Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Frank Gair Macomber (1849-1941), Boston, MA, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: ?-1916 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 1916- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: This is a custom-made crossbow combining popular Italian and German designs of the 1600s. digital description: This ornate pellet crossbow is designed to fire molded clay pellets or small rocks, giving it the name stonebow. The bow is hand drawn and used for hunting small game. wall description: Pellet crossbows shot small stones or molded clay pellets rather than steel-tipped bolts. They were used solely for hunting fowl and small animals, such as squirrels, rabbits, or ermine. Pellet crossbows (also called stonebows) lacked the power and range of conventional crossbows, but they could be drawn by hand. They were used throughout Europe from about 1550 to 1700 and were often beautifully decorated. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS Catalogue of Arms and Armour. Vol. 4, 17th to 19th century and a few pieces of iron work. [Boston, Massachusetts]: [Frank Gair Macomber], [1900-1915]. page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: No. (240) 263 url: https://archive.org/details/CatArmsArmour4/page/n410 Gilchrist, Helen Ives. A Catalogue of the Collection of Arms & Armor Presented to the Cleveland Museum of Art by Mr. and Mrs. John Long Severance; 1916-1923. Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. page number: Mentioned: p. 176, G11; Reproduced: Plate XXXVIII, G11 url: https://archive.org/details/SeveranceCollection1924/page/n253 Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. page number: p. 139 url: Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. page number: cat. no. 208, p. 193 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1726/1916.1726_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1726/1916.1726_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1916.1726/1916.1726_full.tif