32 A powder flask A study into its manufacturing techniques, art historical background and conservation options KEYWORDS: Powder flask, gun accessories, reconstruction, wood turning, inlays. The round powder flask, belonging to the collection of the Cologne City Museum, is equipped with a brass spout tube and matching hinged closure, as well as two iron eyelets screwed into the side. The walnut body is decorated with a detailed work of inlays made of bone, wood and brass. This lecture shall present the prior state of the powder flask, the findings of the performed literature research, tests and reconstructions, as well as the resulting conservation and restoration methods. Due to climatic influences, the subsequent swelling and shrinkage of the wooden body opened some cracks around the eyelets and along the wood fibre in the corpus. Furthermore, several inlays loosened, were pushed out of their recesses and fell out, revealing the drilled holes. In addition, the spring closure and the middle part of the annular body are missing. The object can no longer fulfil and therefor represent its purpose as a vessel. The recreation of the manufacturing process aided in understanding the high craftsmanship behind these powder flasks. In cooperation with woodturners, the body was partly reconstructed. The toolmarks and the derived technique for the inlays got tested on a flat walnut base. The reconstruction enabled the recognition of weaknesses in the technique and the better understanding of the original manufacturing process. An extensive literature research leading to a number of comparison objects, was conducted to comprehend the art-historical background, the evolution and the function of powder flasks. Dating and provenience of the object can be narrowed down to the German or Polish area in the late 16th to early 17th century. The comparison of different round powder flasks showed a great variety of designs and materials, as well as possible shapes for the missing middle part and spring lock. With several ideas for the original form, the question arises whether and how the missing parts should be reconstructed, in order to present the completed object to a future visitor of the exhibition. Without the possibility to narrow down and verify the original shape for specifically this powder flask, a reconstruction is controversial in ethical terms and open to discussion. jhaas18[at]gmx.de
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTg3Nzk=