The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

Powder Flask

Powder Flask

c. 1550–1580
(?)
staghorn (two branches) with carved relief scene of the Judgement of Paris, mounts missing
Overall: 17.8 x 13.4 cm (7 x 5 1/4 in.)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. John L. Severance 1916.676
Location: 210B Firearms

Description

Powder flasks are small, portable containers designed to hold gunpowder. From the 1400s to the 1800s, powder flasks were indispensable for charging and priming firearms of all types. Without powder flasks firearms were of little use to their owners. Many highly decorated flasks rank as works of art. During the 1500s, they were frequently decorated with images of famous historical figures. Here the figures of the Judgment of Paris come from Greek antiquity.
  • Don A Gonzales of Seville; Frank Gair Macomber; Boston; cat. #539.
  • 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: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1924. Mention: p. 157, F44 archive.org
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms and Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: The Museum, 1998. p. 176, cat. no. 252
    Fliegel, Stephen N. Arms & Armor: The Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. p. 195, cat. no. 245
  • Armor Court Reinstallation. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (09/10/1998); "Armor Court Reinstallation"
  • {{cite web|title=Powder Flask|url=false|author=|year=c. 1550–1580|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1916.676