Episode 18: Arms and Armour with Jeremy Reeves: Rethinking Firearms in Early Modern Europe
May 29, 2026

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Kunz Lochner (German armorer, 1510–1567)
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), 1549
Steel, brass, leather
Metropolitan Museum of Art

In this episode, we speak with historian and curator Jeremy Reeves about the cultural lives of arms and armour in early modern Europe. Moving beyond the battlefield, the conversation explores what happens when firearms are understood as crafted objects embedded within systems of art, status, technology, and power. Jeremy discusses his research on sixteenth-century French firearms, examining how these objects circulated through courtly culture, collecting practices, diplomacy, hunting, and elite display during a moment of profound technological and social transformation. Together, we consider firearms as works of material culture: objects shaped by specialized craftsmanship, guild structures, decorative practices, and evolving ideas about identity and prestige.

Objects mentioned:

Kunz Lochner, Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), 1549, steel, brass, leather, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Combination weapon: German, Combination Ax-Pistol of Grand Duke Ferdinand I de' Medici (1549–1609), ca. 1580, steel, gold, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pistol with stag horn decoration: Peter Danner (German gunsmith, ca. 1580–1602), Wheellock Pistol, ca. 1580, steel, bronze, gold, wood (walnut), staghorn, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pistol with stag horn and exposed mechanism: Peter Peck (German gunsmith, 1503–1596) and Ambrosius Gemlich (German etcher, active ca. 1520–50), Double-Barreled Wheellock Pistol Made for Emperor Charles V (reigned 1519–56), ca. 1540–45, steel, gold, wood (cherry), staghorn, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Wheelock mechanism: French, Wheellock Mechanism for a Pistol, ca. 1620, bronze, steel, gold, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Embossed decoration on pistol that would have altered its functionality as a weapon: German, Wheellock Pistol, ca. 1560–70, steel, gold, copper, wood, horn, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Armour from late medieval period: Italian, Armor, ca. 1400–1450 and later, steel, copper alloy, textile, leather, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sheild: French, Shield of Henry II of France (reigned 1547–59), ca. 1555, steel, gold, silver, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Non-decorative, operational pistol: French, Wheellock Pistol, ca. 1525–30, iron, wood, brass, horn, Musée de l’Armée Invalides

French weapon: Diego de Caias Spanish damascener, recorded 1535–49), Mace Made for Henry II of France, ca. 1540, steel, gold, silver, Metropolitan Museum of Art

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