17th century Italian mortar?

[Guillaume]

I cast this piece with 16th century technology as outlined in Pyrotechnia (using a "casting powder" bound with sodium silicate) from an example I found online which said it was a "17th CENTURY ITALIAN HAND/SALUTING MORTAR, ca. 1640". From what I have gathered here, it is the consensus in these parts that the absense of a lip to hold powder while upright probably means that this was held in a stock, and therefore not necessarily a signal mortar.

What do you think about the ascribed date/place/function? I will say it's very difficult to light standing up with out a fuse .



(I didnt post a link to the orginal because its part of an online sale and I belive there's a prohibition against that, so I'm just using mine as a reference for the question)