An Indian Musket from the Flea Market
 

An interesting 'old soldier' found at the Bouckville flea market yesterday. I presume from the style and inscription on the stock that this is likely a deaccession from an Indian armory. You cannot really see it in the pictures, but the barrel is 'Damascus,' made from twisted patterned rods. Flaring at the end and smoothbore as far as I can see, the barrel is secured to the stock by rattan strips and the stock and strips are black, whether deliberately painted this color or a shellac that has oxidized to this color.

Overall length is about 64 inches with a 45.5 inch barrel and an overall weight of about 7 pounds.

Am I correct in my presumption of an Indian origin and does anyone recognize more from the inscription about where this came from?

I don’t understand firearms at all, but I have seen such fastening with rattan strips on the scabbard of Dayak swords.

It appears to me to be an Indian torador matchlock. Not sure about the markings, maybe this particular musket was assigned to an arsenal in British India. Nice fleamarket you went to!

Perhaps a typical Indian Toradar, apparently registered (by the Brits) in the arsenal of RANCHI, the capital of the State of Jharkhand.



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