Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

rickystl · 8th December 2016, 07:17 PM

Hi Dana.

That is a beautiful blunderbuss. And, a most interesting one. Myself, I can't detect any evidence that this was made for the Ottoman market. While it's true that the blunderbuss remained popular in the Ottomans well into the mid-19th Century, it also remained popular in Spain as a private purchase, personal protection gun up to the mid-1800's. There are many examples of Spanish blunderbuss made with latter percussion locks, even after the gun started to fall out of favor throughout the rest of Europe. A lot of Spanish private purchase long arms seem to have a single reinforcing band somewhere along the fore stock. Even though the barrel is pin fastened to the stock. Might be just for decoration (?). And the barrel on this one looks pin fastened. Also note the single sling swival for a shoulder sling to hang vertically down the side and hidden under a cloak. The ramrod grooves and ferrels look as though the gun may have originally come with a wood ramrod, with an iron one added later. The butt stock style and trigger guard scream Spanish to me. Even the carvings on the stock look very European. Nothing like you see on the Ottoman/Turkish exports. The lock looks a little similar to the 1757 Spanish musket lock. But it has a more straight (vs banana shape) lockplate and a brass pan. Brass pans were normally associated with the last part of the 18th Century onward. But with a private purchase gun, who knows. Also, the engraving on the lock with the boar's head and flags look decidedly European. Even with the silver inlay on the barrel, the engravings don't look generic Ottoman. They look European of some sort.

It's interesting to note that the Spanish military utilized the miquelet lock up until about 1750, where they changed to the French style of flintlock. Then, changed back to the miquelet style of lock around 1790. But in the case of private purchase guns it could have gone either way at the customer's descretion. So, in dating this piece: Hmmmm. Tough call. I would guess this was a private purchase piece from around 1800. Maybe a bit before or after. It sure is a nice looking blunderbuss. Would not mind having it in my collection. LOL

Rick

8th December 2016, 07:17 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,629	Hi Dana. That is a beautiful blunderbuss. And, a most interesting one. Myself, I can't detect any evidence that this was made for the Ottoman market. While it's true that the blunderbuss remained popular in the Ottomans well into the mid-19th Century, it also remained popular in Spain as a private purchase, personal protection gun up to the mid-1800's. There are many examples of Spanish blunderbuss made with latter percussion locks, even after the gun started to fall out of favor throughout the rest of Europe. A lot of Spanish private purchase long arms seem to have a single reinforcing band somewhere along the fore stock. Even though the barrel is pin fastened to the stock. Might be just for decoration (?). And the barrel on this one looks pin fastened. Also note the single sling swival for a shoulder sling to hang vertically down the side and hidden under a cloak. The ramrod grooves and ferrels look as though the gun may have originally come with a wood ramrod, with an iron one added later. The butt stock style and trigger guard scream Spanish to me. Even the carvings on the stock look very European. Nothing like you see on the Ottoman/Turkish exports. The lock looks a little similar to the 1757 Spanish musket lock. But it has a more straight (vs banana shape) lockplate and a brass pan. Brass pans were normally associated with the last part of the 18th Century onward. But with a private purchase gun, who knows. Also, the engraving on the lock with the boar's head and flags look decidedly European. Even with the silver inlay on the barrel, the engravings don't look generic Ottoman. They look European of some sort. It's interesting to note that the Spanish military utilized the miquelet lock up until about 1750, where they changed to the French style of flintlock. Then, changed back to the miquelet style of lock around 1790. But in the case of private purchase guns it could have gone either way at the customer's descretion. So, in dating this piece: Hmmmm. Tough call. I would guess this was a private purchase piece from around 1800. Maybe a bit before or after. It sure is a nice looking blunderbuss. Would not mind having it in my collection. LOL Rick