Info sought on (Afghan?) Blunderbuss?

[JeroenV]

Goodafternoon all,

My name is Jeroen, I am 47 years old, from the Netherlands and work in law enforcement.
I have allways had an interest in historic weapons but have never owned any. Untill recently that is, when this gun caught my eye at the church fleemarket where I was volunteering. First because it seems to be a functioning weapon and I was unsure if we were allowed to sell it, and second because the info I found on a quick google fascinated me.

Long story short: I bought it and brought it home, where my wife was as unenthousiastic as I was enthousiastic :-)

I tried to research it but it is hard to determine what info is valuable and what is not. I tried AI but am not convinced that the surety it displays is valid. So I registered here, where I found some fascinating threads about Jezails and all kinds of historic weapons. I hope the experts can shed some light on this piece.

The gun is 103 cm long which translates to 40,5 inches. I have carefully disassembled the lock to clean it and look fur further markings. There were none I could find. I have bought Renaissance Wax and Ballistol oil to preserve it. See the photo's for more information. Thank you in advance for your time!

[Tim Simmons]

I am not a gun collector but I think you have done well for your first piece. Will not be long before you want another.

[JeroenV]

I was hoping for a lively discussion about this gun :-)
Is it allowed to tag some of the experts I have seen on this site? I am trying to be patient but that is not one of my virtues... Feel free to ask for any more information or pictures if that is needed for a determination.

[RobT]

JeroenV

I’m no firearms expert either but from everything I can see, it is real. Since you disassembled the lock and didn’t mention concerns about its functionality, that is a pretty strong indicator of authenticity for the entire piece. As far as value goes, it’s an authentic flintlock blunderbuss, well decorated, and good condition. Antique items like this aren’t common, so I would say it’s quite valuable. I certainly wouldn’t mind having it. Be patient. Sooner or later the firearms experts on the forum will weigh in to give you the information you seek.

Sincerely,
RobT

[JeroenV]

Rob,

Thank you for your reply. The lock and trigger mechanism are indeed in full working condition.

[JeroenV]

Am I allowed to tag some of the knowledgeable people I have seen responding in previous topics? They say patience is a virtue but it is a bitter fought one in my case :-)

[Jim McDougall]

Jeroan welcome to the forum!
Congratulations on acquiring a genuine piece of history, and its value is intrinsic, not monetary. As an arms historian, that is the perspective I look for, and the regions from which this came are powerfully historic. As one who has studied those fields for many years, this wonderful and actually unusual example brings forward all the contexts and questions which encourage these studies.

These kinds of vintage weapons have remained in favor and in use by the warriors of the many tribes in these rugged regions, in many cases well into modern times. While obviously modern arms are required in the warfare of our times in Afghan regions, there has never been a time where it did not exist in these regions.

Afghan armorers are innovative and skilled and through the 19th century created many traditional weapons crafting new components after old forms, and often copying old ones. Most often the arms created were composites of both, and decoration followed traditional styles.

As Rob has noted, a blunderbuss among these kinds of Afghan weapons is most unusual, and its having functional components suggests it was intended for actual use, its decoration indicating a tribal warrior of standing.

Without provenance it is hard to establish a date/period for these arms as they remained in use for generations, even well back into early 19th c.
This one seems to fall into latter 19th c into perhaps even 1930s when warfare with British was still quite active.

The most common type of gun in use was the 'jezail', a long high caliber gun with which the warriors of the dominant tribes in and around the Khyber were deadly snipers.

As a youngster I became enthralled by the 1950s movie "King of the Khyber Rifles" (Tyrone Power). In later years as I was well into my lifelong odyssey of studying the history of arms, I discovered that this story was from a novel written in 1919 by Talbot Mundy. This in turn was taken from the memoirs of a British officer, Sir Francis Warburton, "Eighteen Years in the Khyber".
This told of how this paramilitary unit of the British army was formed from groups of these deadly Khyber warriors, and at first called "Khyber Jezalchis"(as seen on the cover of his book).

These British auxiliary units often used their own weapons, despite later issued the regulation arms of British military.

Clearly it is MOST unusual to see a blunderbuss in Afghan context. Interesting that the term is actually of Dutch origin (donderbuss= thunder jar) ! These would have perhaps been favorable because of being muzzle loading and able to fire all manner of shot etc. with other ammunition not available. It seems these were known in Mughal context of course with one made for Tipu Sultan (latter 18th c.) and this well could be imitating this example, again strongly indicating association with a tribesman of important standing.

Well done! and THANK YOU for sharing here!

All best regards
Jim