Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - POWDER FLASKS---A QUESTION OF ORIGIN

kahnjar1 · 14th April 2017, 03:40 AM

Whilst these powder flasks are often seen for sale, the origin stated has been a little hazy, ranging from Arabia, Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan. Also they are often referred to as made from animal scrota. Fact or fiction???
Shown here are 3 from my collection. Two are sewn in what I would call a V shape and the other is straight sewn. This one also has nice tooling decoration with what looks like Lotus flowers on each side, whilst the other two are simply tooled with lined designs.
I should add that the cap on the Lotus one is NOT original. It came to me without one, but I just happened to have a suitable spare amongst my bits and pieces.
My query is this. Is the scrotum story fact or fiction?
What is the general opinion as to origin of the two styles?
Stu

14th April 2017, 03:40 AM	#1
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,729	POWDER FLASKS---A QUESTION OF ORIGIN Whilst these powder flasks are often seen for sale, the origin stated has been a little hazy, ranging from Arabia, Persia (Iran) and Afghanistan. Also they are often referred to as made from animal scrota. Fact or fiction??? Shown here are 3 from my collection. Two are sewn in what I would call a V shape and the other is straight sewn. This one also has nice tooling decoration with what looks like Lotus flowers on each side, whilst the other two are simply tooled with lined designs. I should add that the cap on the Lotus one is NOT original. It came to me without one, but I just happened to have a suitable spare amongst my bits and pieces. My query is this. Is the scrotum story fact or fiction? What is the general opinion as to origin of the two styles? Stu Attached Images