Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

rickystl · 19th November 2023, 08:31 PM

Hi Galvano

It appears you indeed have a very nice example of one of the few "Ottoman" matchlocks. Congratulations. Would be well worth cleaning the loose, red rust from the iron parts. You can use simple old style gun oil and 0000 steel wool. Taking the barrel off will make cleaning much easier.

The Ottomans must have used thousands of matchlocks during the period. But generally speaking, there are very few examples remaining today. While, as mentioned above, there are many remaining flintlock/miquelet lock examples available today. The reason for the lack of matchlock examples remains a mystery. Some believe that large arsenals in the Region were destroyed at some early point, with the matchlocks included. Perhaps.

Hope you decide to do a little cleaning/restoration for this gun. Would be well worth it. It's a very high quality piece.

Rick

I believe the green is the Muslim religious color.

19th November 2023, 08:31 PM	#18
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,621	Hi Galvano It appears you indeed have a very nice example of one of the few "Ottoman" matchlocks. Congratulations. Would be well worth cleaning the loose, red rust from the iron parts. You can use simple old style gun oil and 0000 steel wool. Taking the barrel off will make cleaning much easier. The Ottomans must have used thousands of matchlocks during the period. But generally speaking, there are very few examples remaining today. While, as mentioned above, there are many remaining flintlock/miquelet lock examples available today. The reason for the lack of matchlock examples remains a mystery. Some believe that large arsenals in the Region were destroyed at some early point, with the matchlocks included. Perhaps. Hope you decide to do a little cleaning/restoration for this gun. Would be well worth it. It's a very high quality piece. Rick I believe the green is the Muslim religious color.