Guns From Space? Maybe not!

[fernando]

Originally Posted by LOUIEBLADES

Hi Fernando

I dug this out of my closet. This is an early 20th century or earlier Moroccan/Algerian dagger with the same inset wire design as seen on the pistols.

Lew

Impressive ... couldn't be more similar.
Not only the spiral efects but also the waves inside the paralel lines.
Now, are these decors a Moroccan (or Algerian) exclusive or could they, instead of being a localized custom, belong to a general culture ... Muslim, for what counts ?
I guess that firearms are rather more complicated to dissecate their origins than white (edged) arms. They are built with far more components, often each one of them provenant of the most distinct places.
In the other hand, General Alvarez wrote in that letter that the pistols were the first essay on manufacturing arms in Buenos Aires. Maybe manufacturing was a "strong" term and they only assembled them, but obviously some enterprise was taking place there; there is no smoke without fire.
This way the importing of the components was potentially from Spain, even if they were not Spanish ... although obviously not from Morocco, even being a surrounding area
But once in the field of speculation, it could be that the General had the pistols stocks decorated by comission, a custom often used for presentation pieces.
In such case, he might have ordered such fancy work from a Moor
Let me stop the nonsense
Fernando