Hitherto unknown depiction of an early firearm on the fresco at Police near Cerkno

Abstract

The succursal Church of the Nativity of Mary at Police near Cerkno has already engaged researchers’ attention on a number of occasions for its preserved frescos dating to the first half of the sixteenth century. The latest restoration works uncovered new, hitherto unknown paintings. The contribution focuses on the fresco of Saint Christopher on the south side of the nave. On its margin, the monumental depiction features an added figure of a shooter aiming his arquebus at a horned animal – a goat or a chamois. This motif is interesting for several reasons. According to the available data, it is one of the earliest, if not even the earliest depiction of the use of a firearm in wall painting in Slovenia. The detailed treatment of the scene within its historical context raises further questions by pointing to an important watershed, when hand-held firearms matured to the point of becoming a self-evident part of military armament and also began to spread among hunters in the eastern Alpine area.