Omani Matchlock

kahnjar1 · 18th March 2014, 04:33 AM

After many years of waiting to acquire one, this one came my way recently. Seems they are not that common compared with other similar Middle Eastern/Arabian muzzle loaders.....at least they don't seem to come up for sale as often.
Called Abu Fitilia "The Father of the Match", this one is complete and in good working order, but shows signs of many years of service to its original owner. No facility for ramrod so I assume that the rammer was carried separately. Pictures in Elgood's book Arms and Armour of Arabia show these with and without fitted rammers.
Overall length is 64" (1625mm) with the barrel of 46" (1170mm). The smooth bore is approx. 15mm.
Comments welcome.
Stu

Berkley · 18th March 2014, 05:10 AM

Congratulations! Thank you for sharing it with us.
What are the two brass containers on the stock just ahead of the coiled match?

kahnjar1 · 18th March 2014, 06:47 AM

Hi Berkley, The "containers" are designed to hold the lighted match end. The one with the holes/vents is designed to safely hold a LIGHTED match while the other with no holes is to extinguish the lighted match. A very crafty thing to keep things safe when in use.
From photos I have seen, these "containers" vary in size/shape. They are NOT permanently attached to the stock of the gun. They are held in place by the match cord wound around the stock.
Stu

Berkley · 18th March 2014, 01:54 PM

Very clever and functional.

A.alnakkas · 18th March 2014, 07:57 PM

Very nice! I see similar ones often here... many gun collectors in Kuwait compared to swords and they have the same jambiya 'personal' feeling to them

lovely items.

As for the name; Abu Fatila being translated to 'father of the match' is abit literal. A more accurate translation to this name is 'the one with the match' as 'abu' is also used to refer to a property or 'thing' about the person/object.

example: Abu khashm can be translated 'the father of the nose' which is silly but literal. Or translated as 'the one with the nose' which is accurate to the purpose of the Arab word (generally used as a comment for people with odd noses :-)

kahnjar1 · 19th March 2014, 06:31 AM

Hi Lofty,
Thanks for the comments and particularly the corrected translation. Interested to know that these are often seen in Kuwait. I seem to remember that a certain dealer not far from you was expounding the extreme rarity and huge value of these things! I assume from your comments that this may not be true. Anyway I am most pleased with the one I now have.
Stu

18th March 2014, 04:33 AM	#1
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,731	Omani Matchlock After many years of waiting to acquire one, this one came my way recently. Seems they are not that common compared with other similar Middle Eastern/Arabian muzzle loaders.....at least they don't seem to come up for sale as often. Called Abu Fitilia "The Father of the Match", this one is complete and in good working order, but shows signs of many years of service to its original owner. No facility for ramrod so I assume that the rammer was carried separately. Pictures in Elgood's book Arms and Armour of Arabia show these with and without fitted rammers. Overall length is 64" (1625mm) with the barrel of 46" (1170mm). The smooth bore is approx. 15mm. Comments welcome. Stu Attached Images

18th March 2014, 05:10 AM	#2
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Congratulations! Thank you for sharing it with us. What are the two brass containers on the stock just ahead of the coiled match?

18th March 2014, 06:47 AM	#3
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,731	Hi Berkley, The "containers" are designed to hold the lighted match end. The one with the holes/vents is designed to safely hold a LIGHTED match while the other with no holes is to extinguish the lighted match. A very crafty thing to keep things safe when in use. From photos I have seen, these "containers" vary in size/shape. They are NOT permanently attached to the stock of the gun. They are held in place by the match cord wound around the stock. Stu

18th March 2014, 01:54 PM	#4
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Very clever and functional.

18th March 2014, 07:57 PM	#5
A.alnakkas Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Kuwait Posts: 1,340	Very nice! I see similar ones often here... many gun collectors in Kuwait compared to swords and they have the same jambiya 'personal' feeling to them lovely items. As for the name; Abu Fatila being translated to 'father of the match' is abit literal. A more accurate translation to this name is 'the one with the match' as 'abu' is also used to refer to a property or 'thing' about the person/object. example: Abu khashm can be translated 'the father of the nose' which is silly but literal. Or translated as 'the one with the nose' which is accurate to the purpose of the Arab word (generally used as a comment for people with odd noses :-)

19th March 2014, 06:31 AM	#6
kahnjar1 Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CHRISTCHURCH NEW ZEALAND Posts: 2,731	Hi Lofty, Thanks for the comments and particularly the corrected translation. Interested to know that these are often seen in Kuwait. I seem to remember that a certain dealer not far from you was expounding the extreme rarity and huge value of these things! I assume from your comments that this may not be true. Anyway I am most pleased with the one I now have. Stu