Caucasian Miquelet Rifle
 

Hi All,
A new addition to my collection. From searching on the net I would suggest this is a Caucasian Miquelet rifle dating to somewhere in the 19thC. It is 50 inches overall with a barrel length of 36 1/2 inches excluding the retaining tang. It has a 1/2 inch diameter from land to land. The barrel is octagonal with six lands and grooves it would also appear to be possibly of Turkish manufacture given the cartouche on the breech. There is a brass bead sight at the muzzle and an aperture sight at the breech, please see photos. The inlay is bone and the buttplate is wooden contrasting with the main stock. The lock is in perfect working order complete with leather wrapped flint. The sling is attached properly at the rear but not at the forend. The wooden ramrod with steel tip and rear although the correct size and bore is not, I believe, original to the piece because it interferes with the insertion of the sling into the stock and makes it impossible to attach the sling in the proper place. As you can see by the photos the forend is missing a barrel band and the wood is split caused by using the sling on the ramrod. I think the ramrod is a period replacement and the split period damage caused by the owner using the sling in this fashion. If one of our overworked Arabic translators could have a look at the cartouche on the barrel I would be most grateful.
As usual I would be grateful for all and any information, ideas and comments you may have.
Regards,
Norman.


P.S. The two photographs one a posed studio shot " A Caucasian Falconer" and "Khevsur-Georgia" are by George Kennan who travelled through the Caucasus in 1870 and subsequently wrote a book about his experiences entitled "A Vagabond Life". The photo of the falconer was taken according to the author in Daghestan.

Beautiful gun, Norman,
Let's copy it to the European Forum, to share it with the folks there.

fantastic gun, Norman
real pleasure for the eyes ... Thanks :D

à +

Dom

Fernando and Dom,
Many thanks for the kind words. :) :) :)
My Regards,
Norman.

Surprising thing, Norman.
I expected more members would post their opinions on this nice example :shrug:

Very nice rifle, the barrel looks like it has a pattern - have you tried etching?
Regards,
Teodor

Hi Fernando,
Thanks for the gentle bump. :)
My Regards,
Norman.


Hi Teodor,
Thank you for the kind words. I'm very happy with this latest acquisition and surprised that I'm not able to find any other examples in the Forum archives. The net is rather reticent on the subject and as the Caucasus is rather a large area I was hoping there were regional variations that would allow me to tie down the origins more concisely. Zifir was kind enough to take a look at the barrel stamp but was only able to translate 'made by' but not the name as it appears to be written in a Caucasian language/dialect unfamiliar to him, are you able to help re the name? I think the barrel has a pattern but my wife and I are in an apartment now and playing with 'chemistry' is difficult. :rolleyes: :)
My Regards,
Norman.

Norman,
You are correct that there are limited references on the subject. The best is probably Astvatsaturian's "Arms of the People of the Caucasus", in Russian only. There she characterizies the lock on your rifle as "Kubachi type", and the author gives several illustrations of similar stamps on barrels. The form of the stock on your rifle is also typically Caucasian, but the decoration is puzzling. The typical Caucasian guns have lavish bands of silver with niello and the buttplates of ivory. The decoration on yours with this type of bone inserts actually looks to have a strong Balkan influence.
After the wars with Russia, many Circassians were forced to flee to various parts of the Ottoman Empire, and a large number of them re-settled in the Balkans. It is possible that this gun may have travelled to the Balkans with its owner, where it needed a replacement stock and a local craftsman was able to duplicate the shape, but decorated it in the local manner.
Regards,
Teodor

You've got ermail Norman.

Hi Teodor,
Thanks for the additional interesting information, I did wonder about the decoration as the rifles I was able to find on the net were fitted out in a more lavish and extravagant fashion. I did think mine was a more workmanlike piece, which for me was not a negative, but the scenario re the Balkans would seem to be a plausible reason for this rifle to be plainer than normal. Thanks again.
Best Regards,
Norman.


Hi Fernando,
Message received, thanks.
Best Regards,
Norman.

Hi Norman. I've been away from the Forum for a couple months. Just now catching up on all the great gun Posts. That is a very interesting gun you have. My observations/opinions: 1) The stock is done in the Caucassan style, especially the butt area. 2) The barrel looks more Ottoman/Turkish in style. Especially the design of the rear sight and the barrel tang area. As well, the "bottom groove" rifling was most common (but not always) with Turk made barrels. Of course the barrel marking/translation may prove me wrong. Which just adds more interest to the gun. 3) The lock as mention above, looks more Balkan - even Persian - in style. 4) The bone inlays also look Turkish in style. Attached is a pic of a Ottoman Tufak Rifle I own. Note the similarity of the wrist inlays with yours.
I think Teodor offers a good plausible explanation. Maybe my comments will just add to the mystery? :shrug: :D

Taken as a whole, this is a really neat gun. I wish I owned it. It's so very interesting. Congratulations. Let us know if you receive any translations, etc. Rick.

Hi Rick,
Many thanks for your appreciation and insights, I have had Zifir, our tireless resident Turkish translator, look at the barrel stamp but unfortunately it is not old Turkish and he is not able to give a translation so I'm afraid for the moment I'm in the dark. There doesn't seem to be many of these rifles about and I think I was quite lucky to snag this one. Thanks again.
My Regards,
Norman.

Hi Norman
the complete translation is difficult, I mean for my translator
because, as far as, the first word translated is "made by" (AMAL)
it's a name should come after ... a name; Georgian ? Turkish ?
only the first letter "A" it's readable by my translator,
not enough to imagine the complete name :shrug:

à +

Dom

Hi Dom,
Many thanks to you and your "translator" for having a crack at this and for the info you were able to glean. I sincerely hope you pay your "translator" a fair salary if not in cash at the very least in flowers and chocolates. ;) :D
My regards to you both,
Norman.