Wheel-Lock from a Hunting Gun

Engraving is one of the oldest methods for decorating metal objects and often appears on high-quality firearms, such as this wheel lock engraved with images of the hunt. Engraving tools used by goldsmiths included steel burins and punches, whose exact specifications varied across Europe and determined, to some extent, regional variations to early engravings on paper. The name of the locksmith (a specialist in springs and triggers), Georg Bernardton Hauser, is engraved on the wheel.