Model of a Two-Pood Mortar on Its Bed, 1756

This model of a two-pood mortar was made in 1756; the catalogue record names M. V. Danilov as its author. A mortar is a short-barrelled gun for high-angle fire. The model reproduces its construction in detail but is finished like a ceremonial object: the barrel is of gilded copper, and the bed is of beech with silver mounts.

The cylindrical barrel, with a ring-shaped swelling in the middle and frieze-decorated bands at each end, terminates in a hemispherical breech with trunnions. It is decorated with two dolphins, an applied monogram and an eight-pointed star cast in light-coloured metal, and the ends of the trunnions bear eight-petalled rosettes. The bore is smooth, with a cylindrical powder chamber.

The bed consists of two cheeks with six rings, joined by four wooden transoms and three metal rods; the trunnions rest in sockets on the upper edges of the cheeks. The front transom is bevelled at 45 degrees, so the barrel is set at a fixed angle of elevation. The cheeks are painted red.