Albanian pistols
 

These pistols from Albania or Greece have fantastic silver stocks. Is there anyone here who can explain to me how these silver shafts with the many dimples were made?

These are wonderful 'rat tail' pistols, but fat outside my range.
I'm sure you have Robert Elgood's " Arms of Greece and her Balkan Neighbors" . and wonder if there might be some ideas in that. Silver work is a very specialized craft so jewelry workers producing sword hilts, or resources on them might have info.
Just ideas and looking forward to replies here with answers.

Oh yes, I have the Elgood books, but there isn't a single sentence that answers my question, what was the reason why I asked here. :D

Sorta figured that Udo, I dont have those handy right now so couldnt really check. Unfortunately most arms books are mostly typology, classifications and very little if anything on esoterica, history or manufacturing particulars.

I tried looking into references on swords which dealt with silver hilt swords, and while they describe the types of decoration no mention is made of the means by which these were achieved. I suppose only references focused on the making of jewelry, especially dealing with national or ethnic styles etc. might have details. Some references like that have appendix' with such info.

Not much help, but I wanted to add something, while hoping somebody out there with specific interest in these might know.

maybe best to contact their museum?

https://www.muzeu-fa.gov.al/english/

or as in the former Yu some books have been written about Balkan weapons by Đurđica Petrović:

https://www.dumus.hr/en/cultural-his...ms-collection/

https://imus.org.rs/en/collection/co...ary-equipment/

and if Greek:

https://warmuseum.gr/en/the-museums/...eum-of-athens/

I wrote to the Dubrovnik museum and wate for an answer. Thanks a lot for this advice.

It looks like it is also not possible to contact the museum in Dubrovnik by e-mail; all the addresses given on its homepage do not work. Too bad!:mad:

Just a wild guess.
But carefully dripping melted liquid silver onto the cold brass may cause that effect. Obviously covering areas where you do not want the dimples to go.

It seems more plausible than coating the whole thing with silver and then having to carve out each dimple separately.

try this mail address ( it's the secretary of the museum) :)

tajnistvo@dumus.hr

or otherwise the museum in Zagreb which has a big collection as well


https://www.hismus.hr/en/collections...ion/overview/#

email: MMIGK-LUKOVDOL@HISMUS.HR

keine Atempause, Geschichte wird gemacht..es geht voran ! Translation: no rest for the wicked, go ahead and shoot !

Actualy that is Ledenica silver pistols made only in kotor bay area in Risno and Kotor, not in Albania.
They had fabulous silversmiths.
They were cast.
By.

Try to email museum in Kotor, pomorski muzej kotor, maritime museum cattaro, or Perast museum, but unfortunately, they know nothing in museums, but maybe.

That could perhaps be the solution, although I imagine it would be very difficult because the dimples are attached very regularly, which could not have been easily achieved by dripping liquid silver onto the silver surface

Thanks for your help, I sent an email to this adress:)

This in picture is one of my examples from my ancestors, boka kotorska is little known in the world, but on Balkan it is famous for Ledenice pistols and Pala swords and knives.

Silver "shells" are cast in mould, and put together two halfs of them, 99% of pieces i encountered are made this way.

Beneath them is wooden stock.

There is allso gold plated version with mercury technique of gold plating caled Zlatka or Goldie.

They were only made in Boka kotorska, some authors place them in Greece and Albania but that is not thrue, greek silver pistols are very much diferent, and they never had this style of raised silverwork, let alone albanian ones.
And about Đurđica Petrović book i would skip that, it is full of nonsense and serbian propaganda (for example she proclaims sword schiavonesca which is venetian and there is hungarian version, she proclaimed it serbian sword becouse it has S shaped crossguard, and in serbia they write S in cirilic C, better to awoid book).

You could ask in Kotor museum or Perast museum for more details, but i think that it is zero chance, even goldsmiths in Kotor today, they dont know, im there almost every few months it is my family hometown, that art form is forgoten long time ago.

Are the pistols yours?
They are very nice examples, i would say made for order of some pasha or vezir.

This is what I wanted to know, many thanks for this help! Finally I know how this silver surface has bee made.
The pair of pistols is not mine, I own another one