Hi Stu.
Congratulations. That is a very interesting Ottoman style Knee Pistol. And it appears to have seen considerable action back in it's day. Some observations:
STOCK: The stock on this one is plain, undecorated as many were. Note the thick diameter of the wrist/grip area. Common with these guns. I've never seen one of these pistols broke at the wrist area. I believe this was done by design. Makes the stock very strong in the grip area.
LOCK: Yes, the lock does look like a locally made, period replacement. Which would not be uncommon. The original lock probably became in-operable at some point and was simply replaced with one that was readily available versus having a new one made. The general style of the lock looks like it was trying to duplicate a late period English flintlock. However, there is no "fence" connecting the pan to the frizzen (a pre-1750 feature). So, just the local lock maker's interpretation I guess. Unusual.
BARREL: Now this is interesting. This is the first Knee Pistol I've seen with a hook breech. The European/French origin of the barrel makes sense. The style of lugs for the pins also looks European. The chisel work with remains of gold wash at the breach seem to be a common theme for these Knee Pistol barrels. I've seen these barrels pin-fastened, and others fastened with bands. And a couple that were pin-fastened with barrel bands just for decoration. With the marks on the barrel, all the evidence seems to point to a European barrel made for export. Which would not be a big surprise. But! the hook breech is an unusual and very neat feature for this gun. Nice find Stu.
This so called Knee Pistol design likely originated somewhere in Europe. But it seems to have never caught on. I've never seen a true Europen version. But it was most certainly popular in the Ottoman/Eastern markets. With so many examples still available today attests to this popularity. From highly decorated to very plain, and all points in between.
Rick
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