CANNON with dragon decoration
 

A friend sent me these pictures of this small cannon which she has and wondered if any members can help with dating / country of origin etc .I imagine its just a decorative model but it has a bored through touch hole and the barrel is fully bored out . The barrel length is 15" & total length of the piece is approx 17 1/2" . The bore diameter is 0.75'' . I have handled it and it seems very well made and of good quality, it is surprisingly heavy . The cartouche on the barrel depicts 2 men swordfighting.

Very interesting. It looks operational, not just decorative. Some kind of signal or cerimonial use, but functional.
Asian ... Chinese ?
If only you could discern what kind of swords the men are bearing ;) :cool:
... Surely other members will know better.

Is it one of these pair auctioned today a couple of hours ago?

If it is not, I think it is safe to say it might be a common thing seeing as though there are a pair here.

if it is, perhaps, if he now won them, more detailed images may help the discussion?

Well these look the same type , however my friend has owned hers for many years .

I cant tell any detail on the cartouche it is so worn and polished.

Interesting though .. in what country did these come up for sale ?

Close to you Rich.

Ha ! How close ?

Great looking cannon. I believe they are saluting/yachting guns. A friend of mine bought one that is identical to yours when he was a youngster living with his parents in Scotland and still has it. And, just by pure coincidence, I saw another one, again, identical to it at a gunshow within the last two months for sale in the southern US. Unfortunately, I just spent my allotted limit at another table, so I was not able to grab it.

I believe they are old (late 19th century) and all came from the same shop.

I still think about it!

OK , that's interesting , thanks .