Hi Ibrahiim.
I've occassionally wondered wheather the medium/larger hard leather flasks were more commonly used to carry water versus gunpowder. Sort of like a Spanish leather wine bola. (?) Of course the moulded leather would work well to carry either. My thinking was also based on the rather large opening in the Persian style flasks. Seems more suited for drinking water than pouring powder.
Here are three hard leather flasks. The two larger ones have the wide opening and are just large enough to act as a small canteen to carry a reasonable amount of water. The smaller Arab style flask (associated with the camel scrotum style) with it's narrow, tapered neck seems better suited to pour gunpowder into a measure or barrel. And it's way to small to act as a canteen.
That said, many of the Ethno flasks/horns tend to have larger diameter pour spouts than their European counterparts. Especially the Moroccan horns. One theory I have for this is that an approximate amount of powder was simply pourded into the palm of the other hand, instead of a pre-formed measure, before inserting into the barrel.
Hello rickyst, Good point ! I have the impression that a number of solutions worked... First that two powder flasks were used the first being somewhat coarser powder for the main barrel charge and the second for the pan being far finer powder. Could it be, regarding how much to use, that these scrotum flasks could measure using the stopper or lid device to fill a set amount of powder? In Oman set powder charge amounts could be pre loaded onto a sort of bandolier which I think evolved from the Ottoman form; sometimes a brass or wooden, silver often hexagonal, small tube with a stopper(the wadd) of the exact amount you could just tip down the barrel. sliding in the ball and wadd, ramming and ready!... In addition there was always the simple method of carrying a brass measure into which powder could be accurately poured...then transferred to the barrel.
I use the word bandolier cautiously as some indications are that these apparent sections of what look like a belt were in fact carried in a pouch/bag and not around the waist or across the chest.
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