1576 dated musket - unknown marking

adrian · 2nd August 2024, 07:36 PM

Thank you Jim for your suggestion of a connection to the Milanese serpent mark, I have that reference book and had looked carefully through it and although I had seen vague similarities with some stamp styles I had not recognized the possibility that you have pointed to.

The gun is certainly a composite with the stock, clearly not the original one, coming to it so late that it was in a period where there was very limited understanding about matchlock mechanisms because the craftsman who made that stock fitted that lock in a 'back-action' position and was unconcerned that it did not function. Clearly his job was merely to get it looking complete for an armorial display, probably in the mid to late Victorian period when such displays were very popular.

The lock was 'restored' to a more correct position and to working order several decades ago, which was arranged by the collector from whom I acquired it. A look at the full length photo will detect evidence of the site of where the lock was when erroneously set-up as 'back-action'.

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2nd August 2024, 07:36 PM	#12
adrian Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 130	Thank you Jim for your suggestion of a connection to the Milanese serpent mark, I have that reference book and had looked carefully through it and although I had seen vague similarities with some stamp styles I had not recognized the possibility that you have pointed to. The gun is certainly a composite with the stock, clearly not the original one, coming to it so late that it was in a period where there was very limited understanding about matchlock mechanisms because the craftsman who made that stock fitted that lock in a 'back-action' position and was unconcerned that it did not function. Clearly his job was merely to get it looking complete for an armorial display, probably in the mid to late Victorian period when such displays were very popular. The lock was 'restored' to a more correct position and to working order several decades ago, which was arranged by the collector from whom I acquired it. A look at the full length photo will detect evidence of the site of where the lock was when erroneously set-up as 'back-action'.