Musketmaat, leren huls met oortjes c. 1590 - 1596

This is a musket cartridge, a humble object made of leather, its maker anonymous, but its purpose explicit: to expedite the process of warfare. Consider for a moment the embodied experience of the early modern soldier. Ripped from his village, drilled into a unit, and handed a weapon, he now needs to kill with it. This musket cartridge – a pre-measured tube of gunpowder – speaks to the industrialization of warfare, a shift in which the soldier becomes a mere cog in a killing machine. It reflects an era of colonial expansion, religious conflict, and the rise of centralized states, where violence became increasingly systematized. The cartridge is made of leather, a once living animal, reminding us of the cost of war paid not just by people, but the environment too. The object's simplicity belies its deadly purpose. It is an instrument of power, reflecting how human lives have been – and continue to be – shaped by forces far beyond individual control.