North African Powder Flask.

[David R]

Arrived today, and reassuringly heavy in the hand, with lots of work on it. The decoration looks like repousse rather than applied and sweated as is so often done later. Mainly brass with a white metal outer face I doubt the cord belongs, but it does have an integral loop at one end, so might be a partial original hanger for something local. Vendors pics, with three of mine taken today. It's an accidental find, I was pricing stuff up on fleabay and there it was as a BIN at a price I could not refuse.

[Turkoman.khan]

Originally Posted by David R

Arrived today, and reassuringly heavy in the hand, with lots of work on it. The decoration looks like repousse rather than applied and sweated as is so often done later. Mainly brass with a white metal outer face I doubt the cord belongs, but it does have an integral loop at one end, so might be a partial original hanger for something local. Vendors pics, with three of mine taken today. It's an accidental find, I was pricing stuff up on fleabay and there it was as a BIN at a price I could not refuse.

Congratulations David!
Excellent powder flask. I think Morocco

[Rick]

How do you get an accurate measure of powder, is there an accessory measure or would it have been a cap which I assume once covered the flask opening?

[David R]

Originally Posted by Rick

How do you get an accurate measure of powder, is there an accessory measure or would it have been a cap which I assume once covered the flask opening?

Afaik, it could be either, sometimes (rarely?) made from a large calibre cartridge case. I do have one North African flask with the remains of a cut off and measure, taken or copied from a western flask, but it's the only one I have seen.

[kahnjar1]

Hi David,
I think your "new" flask is Algerian.
Stu

[David R]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

Hi David,
I think your "new" flask is Algerian.
Stu

Which one, the round one or the trapezoid?

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by David R

Which one, the round one or the trapezoid?

The round one (I have a similar shaped one) The other one is Moroccan. Tirri's book shows the round one as Algerian.
Stu

[David R]

Originally Posted by kahnjar1

The round one (I have a similar shaped one) The other one is Moroccan. Tirri's book shows the round one as Algerian.
Stu

Thanks for the information. Nice to have one from further along the coast.

[TVV]

Buttin, who had the benefit of living in the Maghreb in the late 19th and early 20th century, shows 3 similar flasks in his catalogues - nos. 1056-1058. He has described all three as Moroccan. I am more inclined to trust Buttin over Tirri, though on the other hand similar flaks may have been popular in Algeria as well.

[kahnjar1]

Originally Posted by TVV

Buttin, who had the benefit of living in the Maghreb in the late 19th and early 20th century, shows 3 similar flasks in his catalogues - nos. 1056-1058. He has described all three as Moroccan. I am more inclined to trust Buttin over Tirri, though on the other hand similar flaks may have been popular in Algeria as well.

Hi Teodor,
I stand corrected as this style is also described in Stone's Glossary as Moroccan. The Maghreb though is a region covering a large area of Northwestern Africa which includes both countries, so maybe we should just describe these as Maghrebi. Morocco and Algeria share a modern day border so perhaps the origin is a bit clouded.
Stu

[David R]

... which is why I described it as "North African". I have little doubt that there was a lot of exchange between all those countries on the African coast of the Mediterranean.