Powder tester: HEN.M.447-1933

Current Location: Gallery 31 (Armoury)

Maker(s)

Production: Unknown (Uncertain)

Entities

Powder tester

Categories

Weapons

Description

Powder tester

Legal notes

J.S. Henderson Bequest

Measurements and weight

Length: 30 cm
Weight: 735 g

Place(s) associated

Vienna ⪼ Bohemia

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1933-03-16) by Henderson, James Stewart

Dating

17th Century, Late
Production date: circa AD 1690

Note

In the days before rigourous and systematic quality control, the quality of gunpowder (or black powder as it is sometimes known) varied a great deal. Powder testers, called eprouvettes, were developed to test just how strong a new batch was. This powder tester was made by adapting an existing pistol. A measured amount of powder was put into the short barrel and the lid closed. The test powder was then set off by firing the flintlock. The exploding powder pushed the lid up and the height to which it flew indicating how strong the powder was, the higher it went, the stronger the powder.

Identification numbers

Accession number: HEN.M.447-1933
Primary reference Number: 19592
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Monday 18 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Cite this record

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:


            The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Powder tester" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/19592 Accessed: 2024-04-27 06:58:44

Citation for Wikipedia

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            {{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/19592
            |title=Powder tester
            |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-04-27 06:58:44|publisher=The
            University of Cambridge}}

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