Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Percussion pistol with interesting associations

Shakethetrees · 20th September 2014, 06:55 AM

I got this years ago through a Chinese woman whose father had some connection to a complex of antiques warehouses in Tianjin.

Evidently, this is where antiques and other "bourgeois" possessions were hauled off to when they were confiscated after the 1949 revolution, the Cultural Revolution, and other times of ideological turmoil.

She and her husband came to the US selling these odds and ends several times roughly twenty years ago.

The story I got was that this pistol was picked up after the Tian An Men demonstrations. Her story loosely confirmed those of two students I knew from BeiDa who were present in the square the night everything hit the fan. One of them was seriously injured and hauled to the hospital on one of the ubiquitous three wheeled bicycles then common throughout China.

Without getting into the extreme details, as horrible and violent as that night was, the story is much more complicated than we got from the news media.

In a nutshell, the students unveiling of the Goddess of Liberty statue was the spark that lit the fire. The PLA came in and with a heavy hand, cleaned out the square. We all know this. But what we didn't hear was that hundreds, if not about a thousand regular Chinese people came out with the intention of fighting the PLA and police. The people were armed with whatever they could get, from agricultural implements to kitchen gadgets, and whatever else they could find. This pistol was apparently part of that. For powder they used ordinary firecracker powder, the whitish residue remains on the hammer and around the nipple. Match heads were used as caps.

In the intervening years, a lot of this residue has rusted off, but I felt it was important at the time not to disturb it.

The pistol itself shows evidence of old repairs, the side plate is set up to engage a belt hook. I suspect it is a model from a European navy that somehow got away during the 19th century and remained in China.

It's of a small caliber, and has a short grip.

Normally I'm skeptical of stories, but since I got it years after I heard the "insiders" story of the night on the square, I had to get it.

This is the first time I have showed it. It's been in storage for about ten years and just surfaced during my move.

Comments welcome.

For the moderators: I agonized over whether it belongs in the ethno or European forum. Since it's last use was Asian, I opted for the former.

20th September 2014, 06:55 AM	#1
Shakethetrees Member Join Date: Apr 2014 Location: Louisiana Posts: 363	Percussion pistol with interesting associations I got this years ago through a Chinese woman whose father had some connection to a complex of antiques warehouses in Tianjin. Evidently, this is where antiques and other "bourgeois" possessions were hauled off to when they were confiscated after the 1949 revolution, the Cultural Revolution, and other times of ideological turmoil. She and her husband came to the US selling these odds and ends several times roughly twenty years ago. The story I got was that this pistol was picked up after the Tian An Men demonstrations. Her story loosely confirmed those of two students I knew from BeiDa who were present in the square the night everything hit the fan. One of them was seriously injured and hauled to the hospital on one of the ubiquitous three wheeled bicycles then common throughout China. Without getting into the extreme details, as horrible and violent as that night was, the story is much more complicated than we got from the news media. In a nutshell, the students unveiling of the Goddess of Liberty statue was the spark that lit the fire. The PLA came in and with a heavy hand, cleaned out the square. We all know this. But what we didn't hear was that hundreds, if not about a thousand regular Chinese people came out with the intention of fighting the PLA and police. The people were armed with whatever they could get, from agricultural implements to kitchen gadgets, and whatever else they could find. This pistol was apparently part of that. For powder they used ordinary firecracker powder, the whitish residue remains on the hammer and around the nipple. Match heads were used as caps. In the intervening years, a lot of this residue has rusted off, but I felt it was important at the time not to disturb it. The pistol itself shows evidence of old repairs, the side plate is set up to engage a belt hook. I suspect it is a model from a European navy that somehow got away during the 19th century and remained in China. It's of a small caliber, and has a short grip. Normally I'm skeptical of stories, but since I got it years after I heard the "insiders" story of the night on the square, I had to get it. This is the first time I have showed it. It's been in storage for about ten years and just surfaced during my move. Comments welcome. For the moderators: I agonized over whether it belongs in the ethno or European forum. Since it's last use was Asian, I opted for the former. Attached Images Last edited by Robert; 21st September 2014 at 07:23 AM.