Matchlock Petronel
1570/80
Steel, iron, fruitwood, staghorn, and horn
SEE IT IN PERSON
● On view now — Gallery 239
Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · verified July 2026
Discussion
FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG
Petronels were shot from the chest (their name comes from the French word for chest, poitrine ). These crook-butted long guns were a popular stock design for a few decades at the end of the 16th century. They were soon supplanted by more practical shoulder stocks as the recoil resulted in chronic chest injuries.
Be the first to share your thoughts.
Sign in to join the discussion.
More by French
Head of a Woman
Altarpiece from Thuison-les-Abbeville: Saint Hugh of Lincoln
Panels from the High Altar of the Charterhouse of Saint-Hono
Portrait of a Young Man
Altarpiece from Thuison-les-Abbeville: Saint Honoré
Altarpiece from Thuison-les-Abbeville: The Ascension
Panels from the High Altar of the Charterhouse of Saint-Hono
The Nymph of FontainebleauMore like this
German — War Hammer
German — Wheellock Rifle
Ilya Salishchev — Flintlock Fowling Piece Given by the Empre
German — Wheellock Rifle
Polish, Silesia, Teschen — Wheellock Gun of Tschinke Form
Hans Paumgartner — Wheellock Rifle of Archduke Charles of St
Ancient Egyptian — Kohl Stick
German, possibly French — War Hammer
European — Ahlspiess
German or Austrian — Ahlspiess
Jean Le Clerk — Presentation Flintlock Fowling Piece in the 
North European, possibly Flemish — Ballock Dagger