The line between classifying an item as war booty or a trophy is sometimes difficult to draw. Many of these items fell into the hands of the enemy, for example, following a lost skirmish. If they possessed distinctive features and documentation had been prepared for them, the situation seems simpler. Unfortunately, we do not always have comparative material at our disposal.

There are several cannons from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth held in Swedish collections. One item that falls into the category of war booty is a 3-pounder cannon held at the Armémuseum (AM.010112). It has a straight barrel 123 cm long, with a total length of 142 cm, and a grip shaped like a bunch of grapes in a bowl stylised as a leaf, probably an acanthus leaf. At the base, there is a band with ornamentation and a gold inscription: No. 3. Next, a decorative band (frieze) running along the lower part (at the base) of the cannon is adorned with the Swedish coat of arms – a common decorative feature on cannons that also served propaganda and informational purposes. The dolphins (cannon handles) are decorated with an unspecified animal motif. Next, a cartouche adorned with leaves is placed on the barrel, and within it is the inscription: Ao 1699 AF K / CARL D. XII SKIANKT TILL / POLNSKE MINISTERN GAL / LETSKY MEN MED GUDZ / HIELP IGENTAGIT WIDH / POSEN Ao 171 (the last digit of the date is missing), meaning ‘In the year 1699, Charles XII sent them to the Polish minister Gałecki, but with God’s help they were recovered in Poznań in the year 171’. The point here is to emphasise the return to Sweden of the ten cannons gifted to Franciszek Zygmunt Gałecki by Charles XII, which the Swedes had already recovered following the capture of Poznań in 1703, and not during the battle – as was previously thought – which took place a year later. In 1699, Gałecki served as a diplomatic representative in Sweden, and following the outbreak of the Great Northern War, he sided with Augustus II, which necessitated the return of the gifts from the Swedish monarch.

The second interesting artefact is a 6-pounder cannon (AM.010107), cast in 1602, probably in Nieśwież. It is made of bronze and measures 340 cm in length. This is one of Krzysztof Radziwiłł’s cannons, characterised by a rich symbolic programme; there are known instances of such objects bearing both inscriptions detailing the founder’s positions or achievements, as well as numerous and elaborate ornaments.

The cannon, which is housed in Stockholm and on display, is adorned at its base with a floral motif and the inscription: MIT GOTES HVLF / GOSS MICH HERMAN MOLTZF / ELT ZV NIESWISCH (“With God’s help, I was cast by Herman Moltzfelt of Nieśwież”). It is therefore one of the cannons from the so-called Moltzfelt collection, which served the Radziwiłł family’s propaganda programme. These cannons were richly decorated, and the inscriptions placed upon them emphasised the key role of the founder’s family in Lithuania. This is also the case here – within a simple oval frame is the Radziwiłł coat of arms, and a short distance away another inscription: NICOLAVS CHRI/ STOPHORVS RADZIVIL/D[ei] G[ratia] OLICA AC IN. NIE/SWISCH DVX ANNO DOMINI MDCII (‘Mikołaj Krzysztof Radziwiłł, by the grace of God, Duke of Ołyka and Nieśwież in the Year of Our Lord 1602’), indicating not only the name of the person who commissioned the casting, but also signifying a figure whose position was endowed with a virtually divine legitimacy (“by the grace of God”). The delphins (handles) were made from two ropes, and the spindles were decorated with crescent moons and an animal’s head motif. Further along the field, another inscription is located: MELLVSINA SONO ET / CONFLICTUS LAVDE CORONO (“I call myself Melusina and I crown the battle with honour”). This is a perfect example of a cannon that tells its own story through its inscriptions. Such practices were not limited to looted artefacts; they are also found, for example, amongst objects held in Polish collections, where one encounters accounts of rulers, bell-founders, and the origins of the cannons, but also the names of the cannons or maxims that refer to key values.

The museum’s inventory includes notes stating that the cannon was looted in 1632, and that in 1878 it was transferred to the Armémuseum as a result of a donation made by the Stockholms tygförråd, a military organisation in Stockholm. However, there is no information as to how it came into the organisation’s possession. The year 1632 remains questionable; it would imply that the cannon fell into Swedish hands three years after the Truce of Altmar (1629), which seems unlikely. It appears that it may have come into the possession of the Swedish army whilst conducting operations in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania during the Polish–Swedish War (1626–1629).