Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post - Malaysian matchlock musket (satinggar espingarda)

Philip · 17th February 2016, 07:55 AM

Cathey,
Buttstocks on these Malay guns come in two basic shapes. One is like yours, essentially flat-ended. You see a variation of this style on guns from central and southern Vietnam as well. The other has a contour with, as you describe, circular cutouts. This has some similarity to some (not all) Japanese and Korean stocks.

On the Malay matchlocks, there are noticeable differences in the style of decoration on the brass parts, between examples displaying the two buttstock variations. There may be a regional factor, since the stylistic differences are pretty consistent. Try as I might, to date I've not been able to find any publication which analyzes these variations and tries to pin them down to any specific areas in the archipelago.

17th February 2016, 07:55 AM	#17
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	buttstock shapes Cathey, Buttstocks on these Malay guns come in two basic shapes. One is like yours, essentially flat-ended. You see a variation of this style on guns from central and southern Vietnam as well. The other has a contour with, as you describe, circular cutouts. This has some similarity to some (not all) Japanese and Korean stocks. On the Malay matchlocks, there are noticeable differences in the style of decoration on the brass parts, between examples displaying the two buttstock variations. There may be a regional factor, since the stylistic differences are pretty consistent. Try as I might, to date I've not been able to find any publication which analyzes these variations and tries to pin them down to any specific areas in the archipelago.