This 17th Century Iron hand cannon dates to between 1620 and 1700. The octagonal barrel is 16cm high with an octagonal base approximately 8.5 cm across. The cannon weighs 3.3kg and has a bore of 24mm.
The forged iron barrel is marked with an illegible maker’s mark, a flower type stamp and an incised cross. There is also a row of punched dots and squares along one edge.
These cannons were commonly used as signal cannons aboard ships but were also used for testing the quality of gunpowder and occasionally as hand cannons in times of conflict.
