Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - LUSO-CINGALEZE MATCHLOKS

Philip · 2nd May 2007, 08:43 AM

Dear Fernando,
Thanks for posting these mouth-watering pics! I agree that the bottom specimen (the 1.95 meter one) has all the hallmarks of Ceylonese workmanship, and what a fine and rare example it is!

However, the one in the upper photo is, I believe, to be Malayan as opposed to Ceylonese in origin. I compared them against two published examples, both identified as from Malaya:
A. cat. no. 129, FIREARMS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN THE TAREQ RAJAB MUSEUM, KUWAIT by Robert Elgood
B. Figs. 701-72 in GUNS AND RIFLES OF THE WORLD by Howard Blackmore

Mechanically, these two are identical to the one in the image which you provided. Note the long, straight, slender lockplate with the ornate decorations at each end, and the serpentine which terminates in a stylized zoomorphic head. The flattened triangular triggers, heavy trigger guards with a large ornamented bolt-head protruding from the anterior end, and the rather flattened priming-pans attached to the barrels are also common to all these pieces.

The example in Elgood has the lobed buttstock that is seen in your image (by the way, it is related to a similar profile seen on some styles of Japanese buttstocks as well). The specimen in Blackmore has a squared-off butt which is very similar to that on the matchlocks of neighboring Vietnam. The squared cross-section of the forestock ahead of the trigger, which transitions to half-round for the remainder of its length, is another feature that is carried over into the Vietnamese guns as well.

I would be most interested in seeing a detail of the muzzle of the Portuguese barrel on the top specimen, the one that I think is Malay. If it is of the 16th cent., one would expect to see the sizeable thickened mouldings at the mouth, as shown in the example (the replica made as a commemorative gift to the Japanese government) in Daehnhardt's ESPINGARDA FEITICEIRA. Of all the eastern nations which adopted the Indo-Lusitanian matchlock, Japan is the only one in which these oversized mouldings remained popular long after they disappeared in Europe.

In contrast, the three examples of Malay muskets which I have handled in recent years have plain muzzles (no expansion whatsoever), the two Vietnamese specimens in my collection have only a modest thickening or beading around the mouth, and the typical Chinese hunting gun or fowling piece has a slight conical muzzle reinforce similar to that seen on many Indian barrels.

2nd May 2007, 08:43 AM	#4
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Dear Fernando, Thanks for posting these mouth-watering pics! I agree that the bottom specimen (the 1.95 meter one) has all the hallmarks of Ceylonese workmanship, and what a fine and rare example it is! However, the one in the upper photo is, I believe, to be Malayan as opposed to Ceylonese in origin. I compared them against two published examples, both identified as from Malaya: A. cat. no. 129, FIREARMS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD IN THE TAREQ RAJAB MUSEUM, KUWAIT by Robert Elgood B. Figs. 701-72 in GUNS AND RIFLES OF THE WORLD by Howard Blackmore Mechanically, these two are identical to the one in the image which you provided. Note the long, straight, slender lockplate with the ornate decorations at each end, and the serpentine which terminates in a stylized zoomorphic head. The flattened triangular triggers, heavy trigger guards with a large ornamented bolt-head protruding from the anterior end, and the rather flattened priming-pans attached to the barrels are also common to all these pieces. The example in Elgood has the lobed buttstock that is seen in your image (by the way, it is related to a similar profile seen on some styles of Japanese buttstocks as well). The specimen in Blackmore has a squared-off butt which is very similar to that on the matchlocks of neighboring Vietnam. The squared cross-section of the forestock ahead of the trigger, which transitions to half-round for the remainder of its length, is another feature that is carried over into the Vietnamese guns as well. I would be most interested in seeing a detail of the muzzle of the Portuguese barrel on the top specimen, the one that I think is Malay. If it is of the 16th cent., one would expect to see the sizeable thickened mouldings at the mouth, as shown in the example (the replica made as a commemorative gift to the Japanese government) in Daehnhardt's ESPINGARDA FEITICEIRA. Of all the eastern nations which adopted the Indo-Lusitanian matchlock, Japan is the only one in which these oversized mouldings remained popular long after they disappeared in Europe. In contrast, the three examples of Malay muskets which I have handled in recent years have plain muzzles (no expansion whatsoever), the two Vietnamese specimens in my collection have only a modest thickening or beading around the mouth, and the typical Chinese hunting gun or fowling piece has a slight conical muzzle reinforce similar to that seen on many Indian barrels.