A rare wheel-lock hand mortar dating: 1620 - 1640 provenance: Germany, Heavy, smooth-bore, round, bronze, three-stage, 36 mm cal. barrel; first part reduced in diameter, long central segment framed with two rings, finally another segment of reduced diameter before the nozzle with moulded muzzle, again slightly reduced. Short, wide and smooth tang. Big external wheel-lock, flat plate, tang with Nuremberg stamp, wheel framed in 'bresciana' style, snake-shaped cock, engraved, with chiselled spring and ending in baluster. Sliding pan cover, safety lock. Partially finished internal part and with Brescia mark (Der Neue Stöckel 7979). Full, fruit-wood stock, decorated with filigree through all the length, with brass-thread floral motifs. Iron trigger-guard. Butt-plate and muzzle in brass foil. Barrel locking mechanism and plates in the lower part of the barrel in bone. See other examples in 'Guns and Rifles of the World' by Howard L. Blackmore, 1965, nr. 772 abd 'Fine Antique Firearms from the W. Keith Neal Collection', 25 October 2001, lot 144.The master's mark inside the plate appears on a lock of a gun at Skokloster castle (inv. no. 6306). See 'Brescian Firearms' by Nolfo di Carpegna, 1977 pages 86/87 plate XLII, nr. 43. length 61 cm.