Help needed with the ID of this flintlock pistol
 

Hello,
I need your opinion about this pistol ?
I bought it some time ago but it is a mystery to me.

Regards,
Ivo

Hello Ivo.
I think your pistol is from ottoman empire area in 19th century.This type pistols made in balkans from the north africa markets(Algeria,morocco)
Stelios

Hi Ivo,

Glad to see you here as well. I agree with Stelio: the brass plates have a distinctly Balkan decoration, while coral is often used on North African arms. Elgood mentions that there were shops in Epirus which produced weapons specifically meant for export to Tunisia and Algeria.

Regards,
Teodor

Thanks for your answers.
Teo I was also glad to see you.

Regards,
Ivo

Hi Ivo.
That is a beautiful pistol !! I agree with the others above. Likely made at one of the Balkan gun making centers and decorated for Algerian or Moroccan tastes. And I'm leaning towards Algerian. The lock is similar to many Ottoman/Balkan locks made for these pistols. But I really like the brass nose cap design on this one. Really adds to the overall North African look.
A super nice pistol I've been drewling over since I first viewed the photos.
Rick.

I agree with all above. Me I will bet on Algerian or Tunisian.
Kubur

A VERY BEAUTIFUL PISTOL IN GOOD CONDITION FOR ITS AGE,AGREE WITH RICK AND KUBUR AM LEANING TOWARDS ALGERIA,CHEERS

Hi Guys,

I did some researches about this pistol.
And I' m sure that this pistol comes from Tunisia.
The pistol has some features of the North African pistols such as the nails (Morocco), the decorated lock (Algeria), but the overall shape and the mother-of-pearl decorations are Tunisians.
I attach some photographs of a pistol recently sold with a barrel signed "made in Tunis"... You'll see some similarities. Plus I will post a pistol that I got recently very similar...
Nevertheless these pistols present strong influences with Balkans firearms, especially in Elgood (Arms of Greece, p. 207) You can see the connexion with the Rat tail pistols...

Kubur

Hi,
here are another two.

Regards,
Ivo

Kubur, great work on narrowing down the origin to Tunisia. That being said, the style and technique of the decoration on the brass sheet parts has a Balkan feel to it. Could it be possible that these pistols were assembled in the Balkans but meant for export to the Maghreb?

Regards,
Teodor

Hi Teodor,

It is strongly possible.
As Balkan firearms were mostly Italian parts, locks, barrels...
It is possible that the Tunisian pistols were only decorated in Tunis but the parts came from the Balkans.
If you have read my previous posts, i do not think that the identity of a gun belongs to the origin of the components but to the place where the gun was assembled and sold... The same for swords, I read some silly comments of some members about sword names and origins, for me an Ottoman sword with a Persian blade is an Ottoman sword, the ID of the sword is the hilt and sometimes the scabbard...
It's my opinion and I agree to myself

:)

Hi Kubur.
Yes, great job narrowing down the I.D. of this pistol. I do indeed see the subtle similarities with the Tunisian influence. Good job.
As mentioned, the cone shape butt cap similar to the Albanian rat tail pistols shows the cross-culture influence on the designs.
Again, I really like this pistol.
Rick