Dating of chambers for breechloading cannon

Philip · 1st March 2016, 07:53 AM

Hi, Fernando
Thanks for posting these pics. The swivel rampart gun is most interesting, when I saw the image, something told me "I may have seen that before" and lo, there is a photo of its Far Eastern equivalent in a reference book on Chinese arms. A rather fuzzy black-and-white image, not worth reproducing here, but it shows something very similar to the Vila Viçosa example except for the length (2.2 m) and caliber (2.6 cm). The substantial points of difference on the Chinese gun are the fact that it is mounted on a wheeled 4-footed support, and that it is equipped with an actual matchlock mechanism with a trigger. It is dated 1727, making it about a century younger than the Portuguese counterpart in your photo.

In a prior post you use the term berço (cradle) to describe the breechloaders under discussion. The Chinese name for this type of gun is "zimujiang" or child-and-mother gun, the chamber piece corresponding to the baby in a cradle.

Lastly, the "scroll" shape at the end of the buttstock is almost identical to that seen on a type of Japanese matchlock "horse pistol" called a bajou-zutsu.

1st March 2016, 07:53 AM	#9
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	esmerilhão Hi, Fernando Thanks for posting these pics. The swivel rampart gun is most interesting, when I saw the image, something told me "I may have seen that before" and lo, there is a photo of its Far Eastern equivalent in a reference book on Chinese arms. A rather fuzzy black-and-white image, not worth reproducing here, but it shows something very similar to the Vila Viçosa example except for the length (2.2 m) and caliber (2.6 cm). The substantial points of difference on the Chinese gun are the fact that it is mounted on a wheeled 4-footed support, and that it is equipped with an actual matchlock mechanism with a trigger. It is dated 1727, making it about a century younger than the Portuguese counterpart in your photo. In a prior post you use the term berço (cradle) to describe the breechloaders under discussion. The Chinese name for this type of gun is "zimujiang" or child-and-mother gun, the chamber piece corresponding to the baby in a cradle. Lastly, the "scroll" shape at the end of the buttstock is almost identical to that seen on a type of Japanese matchlock "horse pistol" called a bajou-zutsu.