A moroccan long gun

[Drabant1701]

I recently bought a moroccan long gun and just thought i share some photos. I actually do not have any questions I just think its very pretty and bought it as a wall hanger for my study. These are so cheap considering what you get, probably due to ivory parts and the fact that its very hard to ship.

[fernando]

So nice indeed; thanks for sharing it .

[colin henshaw]

Beautiful gun !

[Marc M.]

Nice rifle, would like to find one like yours.

Marc

[kahnjar1]

Beautiful example of the "Altit" form of the Moroccan Mukahla. The style is from the Little Atlas Mountains of southern Morocco.... refer page 21 of Tirri's book Islamic Weapons Maghrib to Moghul.
Stu

[Drabant1701]

Thank you all for your kind comments! Again, I am really happy with it, many of these seem to have lived a rough life, but this example has very little damage.

[Battara]

Is the metal work steel or silver?

[Drabant1701]

Originally Posted by Battara

Is the metal work steel or silver?

Its silver, except the upper piece on the butt. It was all black when i got it, took forever to polish it

[Battara]

You did a great job! Yeah type of oxidation is difficult to get off.

This is perhaps the best example of these I have ever seen!

[cyten]

That is one of the nicest examples I've seen!

[rickystl]

Congratulations !!! That has to be at least one of, if not the best looking example I've seen. And a great job of cleaning. It just looks wonderful. It looks so complete and unmolested.
The snaphaunce lock is of the English pattern, and seems to have been used on every Altit form I've seen.
The iron protrusion on the end of the butt stock has always been a mystery to me. And only the Altit forms have this feature.
Again, congrats.

Rick

[Philip]

Fantastic quality and condition. Congratulations on getting this one! This is far better than the lion's share of these things in circulation.

[Philip]

Originally Posted by rickystl

Congratulations !!! That has to be at least one of, if not the best looking example I've seen. And a great job of cleaning. It just looks wonderful. It looks so complete and unmolested.
The snaphaunce lock is of the English pattern, and seems to have been used on every Altit form I've seen.
The iron protrusion on the end of the butt stock has always been a mystery to me. And only the Altit forms have this feature.
Again, congrats.

Rick

That metal protrusion at the heel of the butt is a holdover from an archaic feature seen on some handgonne and early matchlock stocks from northern Europe, late 15th-early 16th cent. On those, there was no metal buttplate per se, the stock was roughly shaped from a single piece of wood.

The origins of firearms in Morocco are indeed traceable to England, possibly as early as the 16th cent. You might be interested in an article by the late S. James Gooding, "The Snaphaunce Muskets of al-Maghreb al-Aqsa" published in Arms Collecting, Vol 34, No 3, The export of "Barbary guns" to Morocco is documented as early as 1588 although it is not certain whether thee earliest merchandise consisted of snaphaunces or matchlocks. The Dutch also made snaphaunces for the North Africa export trade, Mr Gooding cites an example marked to the firm of Tomson & Son, Rotterdam, ca 1800.

An article by Brian Goodwin, "Some observations on the Decoration of English Snaphaunce Guns 1584-1622" in the handbook to the London Park Lane Arms Fair 2015 illustrates a number of examples with design characteristics evident on Moroccan-made long guns of centuries later.