Afghanistan matchlock musket

[AHite]

I just acquired this matchlock in a trade. A local gun shop had three old firearms displayed on their wall, which according to the owner were found by a US Marine in a cave in Afghanistan. One is the matchlock I am showing here, the other is a shorter barreled matchlock, and the third is a French M1874 Gras rifle. I traded an American percussion long rifle from my collection as the shop owner wanted to still have a "cool old gun" on display.

The matchlock is in very good condition, with minor damage to stamped metal pieces on each side of the receiver. The barrel is 48 inches long, and appears to have a pattern to it. Hopefully this is evident in one of my photos. Ramrod seems to be original. The buttstock cushion is leather, maybe camel? One the receiver resin was used to embed what look to be claws and some red beads. On the left side there is an emblem, a palm tree with crossed swords, that looks a lot like the Saudi Arabian emblem.

There was a newer crack in the stock, near the receiver that I glued and repaired. I stabilized other cracks and loose wood but otherwise just did a careful cleaning. The barrel looks to be about .75 caliber. The style reminds me of the Indian Torador matchlocks, so I wonder if this matchlock came from there or maybe just the barrel. Open to comments and questions.

Regards, Andrew

[Tim Simmons]

I do not know anything about guns but are those pigs teeth, look like pig teeth. That to me would suggest this is not from Afghanistan? Is that the Saudi emblem? Not adopted until 1950 is is not allowed to be used to decorate personal items.

[corrado26]

I think that this item is from Saudi Arabia

[AHite]

Thanks for your comments. After doing more research I determined that this gun is an Indo-Arab matchlock, and I doubt it was obtained in Afghanistan. There's a saying among vintage gun collectors, "Buy the gun, not the story". I found it odd that a French Gras rifle was part of the three guns supposedly found in a cave in Afghanistan. Gras rifles were heavily distributed in Yemen and Arabia and some are still in use. I suspect someone collected all three weapons when visiting those regions in the past. Doesn't really matter, I'm happy to get it and add to my collection.

[BANDOOK]

Originally Posted by AHite

Thanks for your comments. After doing more research I determined that this gun is an Indo-Arab matchlock, and I doubt it was obtained in Afghanistan. There's a saying among vintage gun collectors, "Buy the gun, not the story". I found it odd that a French Gras rifle was part of the three guns supposedly found in a cave in Afghanistan. Gras rifles were heavily distributed in Yemen and Arabia and some are still in use. I suspect someone collected all three weapons when visiting those regions in the past. Doesn't really matter, I'm happy to get it and add to my collection.

This is from Yemen , the leather cover on the butt could have wolf skin as a talisman against evil , the teeth probably would be wolf teeth , cheers

[AHite]

Thanks for your information! I suspected that this gun came from Yemen. I could only guess as to what the skin was from. Standard guess from others was "camel".

Regards,

Andrew Hite

[AHite]

I paid a visit to my son's museum, his upstairs room which is filled with lots of skulls and taxidermy. The teeth on my musket definitely match those on the Russian boar mount he has, the teeth that are on the lower jaw between the tusks. My son has a replica wolf skull as well as a real coyote skull, and there is not a good match of the teeth on theses to the ones on the gun. The leather on the buttstock ball could be wolf, as there is the Arabian wolf in Yemen, an endangered species.

The big question mark on this gun is the Saudi Arabian emblem embedded on the receiver area, with resin. This emblem was probably what is left of a Saudi military pin. Even though (as stated by a forum member) it is not legal for a Saudi citizen to use this emblem as decoration it's possible it fell into the hands of a Yemeni, who acquired it during the border conflicts. It also shows that this gun has been in use up through modern times, if only as a ceremonial piece.

Regards,

Andrew Hite