A TORADOR MUSKET FOR A BOY

[BANDOOK]

Originally Posted by estcrh

That is a matchlock, maybe the serpentine needs to be spread apart and I am not sure about the "nib" but the weak spring on these would not work as a percussion. Here is another similar example.

HI ESTRCH
YOUR MUSKET IS SO MUCH LIKE MINE,JUST ONE YEAR APART FROM THE DATES.MUST HAVE RUBBED SHOULDERS AT ONE TIME,CHEERS AND THANKS FOR POSTING

[Kubur]

Hi Rajesh,

It's a nice one!
I don't think that it was made for a boy.
As you said probably a carbine. My torador is also very short.
I think it depends of the use...

Best,
Kubur

[BANDOOK]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Hi Rajesh,

It's a nice one!
I don't think that it was made for a boy.
As you said probably a carbine. My torador is also very short.
I think it depends of the use...

Best,
Kubur

HI KUBUR THANKS FOR THE INFORMATION,AS I NOW UNDERSTAND ITS MORE FOR HUNTING,MANY THANKS RAJESH

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by BANDOOK

HI ESTRCH
YOUR MUSKET IS SO MUCH LIKE MINE,JUST ONE YEAR APART FROM THE DATES.MUST HAVE RUBBED SHOULDERS AT ONE TIME,CHEERS AND THANKS FOR POSTING

Yes, they are very similar, same workshop perhaps. Here is a group of even smaller torador.

[Kubur]

I think these ones are for another use, they are really short.
They look like guns or blunderbuss.
Rajesh's carbine is probably for hunting.

[Pukka Bundook]

Are there any written accounts of the use of these short and even shorter matchlocks? I have seen paintings of hunting scenes, but they generally show long or intermediate arms.

Regarding dates;
It is possible that the dates are when they were "inventoried" in an arsenal, rather than when they were made. On Indian arms, this sometimes happened more than once.

Richard.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

Are there any written accounts of the use of these short and even shorter matchlocks? I have seen paintings of hunting scenes, but they generally show long or intermediate arms.

Regarding dates;
It is possible that the dates are when they were "inventoried" in an arsenal, rather than when they were made. On Indian arms, this sometimes happened more than once.

Richard.

Richard, I am sure that those dates are arsenal dates and have nothing to do with their manufacture.

As for the short versions being mentioned in written accounts, there are a few mentions in general of "tamancha torador" but the only reference to their purpose I know of is by Georeg Stone who said that they were "probably mainly for show". I think they would have been a good household defense weapon, the ones pictured just do not look like show pieces unless Stone meant they were more for intimidation.

[BANDOOK]

Originally Posted by estcrh

Yes, they are very similar, same workshop perhaps. Here is a group of even smaller torador.

THANS ESTCRH
THATS A BEAUTIFUL ARRAY OF TAMANCHAS ,COPIED THAT FOR MY E-LIBRARY
REGARDS
RAJESH

[Kubur]

Hi Rajesh,

Mine has a lot of tigers on the barrel.
Let's dream that it was to hunt tigers...

Best,
Kubur

[BANDOOK]

Originally Posted by Kubur

Hi Rajesh,

Mine has a lot of tigers on the barrel.
Let's dream that it was to hunt tigers...

Best,
Kubur

haha good one,you never know,poor tigers,more tigers as pets in peoples apartments in usa than in the indian jungle,cheers

[Jens Nordlunde]

Without any knowledge about shooting weapons I had to read about them, and here is what I found.
Robert Elgood: Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, 1995.
On page 130 Elgood quotes Oppert, who again quotes Sukraniti - Elgood writes that it is doubtful how genuine Sukraniti realy is.
" two kinds of firearms are dscribed in the Sukraniti, one is of small size and the other is of large size. The former is five spans long [a span is about 22 cm]..."
There are, of course, a lot of other interesting things to read, like on Sind where note 79 is of special interest, as it tells about a visit by Arnold von Haff in 1497, where he gives a description of the armoury, where he gives its size to thirty feed wide and quite a hundred feet long which is full of arms, like 3-4000 swords, daggers, chain mails, helmets, shields, long pikes and many cross bows hanging under the roof in six rows.
The description is too long for me to quote, but I think you get the general idea, that the armoury was quite big, and contained a lot of weapons.

It is also mentioned that these short guns were likely made for a boy or a woman.

[rickystl]

Hi Bandook.
That's a nice carbine length Torador. Good find.

Estcrh: YES! Thanks for the pics of these really short ones. I'll add this to my library. As mentioned above, the 1865 is an arsenal rack number.

Rick.

[Jim McDougall]

Originally Posted by Jens Nordlunde

Without any knowledge about shooting weapons I had to read about them, and here is what I found.
Robert Elgood: Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait, 1995.
On page 130 Elgood quotes Oppert, who again quotes Sukraniti - Elgood writes that it is doubtful how genuine Sukraniti realy is.
" two kinds of firearms are dscribed in the Sukraniti, one is of small size and the other is of large size. The former is five spans long [a span is about 22 cm]..."
There are, of course, a lot of other interesting things to read, like on Sind where note 79 is of special interest, as it tells about a visit by Arnold von Haff in 1497, where he gives a description of the armoury, where he gives its size to thirty feed wide and quite a hundred feet long which is full of arms, like 3-4000 swords, daggers, chain mails, helmets, shields, long pikes and many cross bows hanging under the roof in six rows.
The description is too long for me to quote, but I think you get the general idea, that the armoury was quite big, and contained a lot of weapons.

It is also mentioned that these short guns were likely made for a boy or a woman.

Jens,
Thank you for noting this and for so well citing and referencing the source and pages. I also have little knowledge on these firearms, and its great to have these sources so I can pursue more in that context. I always appreciate when contributors add these details. The note as to these indeed produced for boys as suspected is great support.

All best regards
Jim

[estcrh]

From the Pitt Rivers Museum

The matchlock musket was known as a torador in India. This is a shorter-barrelled version or 'carbine' version inlaid with ivory and dates to the 18th or 19th century. It was probably made for use on horseback as it has a ring for a lanyard (carrying strap). However, it was not uncommon to find shorter guns such as this made specially for women and children as hunting was enjoyed by all ages and both sexes of the Indian upper classes.

[estcrh]

Firearms of the Islamic World: In the Tared Rajab Museum, Kuwait By Robert Elgood.