Torador once again.

[Pukka Bundook]

Just a couple of interesting (to me) details on this one;

I think the owner must have been Hindu. :-)
It is decorated with eleven depictions of the Trisula.
Elgood shows very closely related examples in both "Arms and Armour Of the Jaipur Court" and "Firearms of the Islamic World".

He has the following to say about the Trisula;

"Trisula , from Trident,
Symbol of Siva.
None of the other weapons, -sword, axe, arrow, have a similar ritual significance.
Survivals found from Iron Age burials.
In Greek Tradition, the Trident is the lightning symjbol of Zeus, and this corresponds to the Indian concept of the Vajra / thunderbolt.
Such weapons being invariably missiles.
Indian tridents are held to have great magical power, being capable of overcoming the power of evil."
(Hindu Arms and Ritual, Rb't Elgood.)

Also, the pair of geese/swans on the stock, "Hamsa"
The Hamsa
In Hindu lore, the hamsa (a pair of divine birds) can be either swans or
geese. The two are interchangeable. The word hamsa is a cognate of the Latin anser (goose).
The hamsa lives on Lake Manasarovar in Tibet, from which it migrates to
India in the winter. It is extolled as the king of birds, and said to eat
pearls and be able to separate Soma from water (later milk from water) when the two are mixed.
It trancends creation, because it can fly in the sky, swim in the water, and
walk on the earth. The hamsa represents perfect union, balance and life
(breath and spirit).
In Vedic times, the hamsa was connected with Surya, the sun god. It
signified strength and virility. In the Upanishads, the hamsa acquired more
attributes, symbolizing purity, detachment, divine knowledge, prana (cosmic
breath) and spiritual accomplishment.
The hamsa laid a golden egg on the waters. (This is the same role taken by
the goose in ancient Egypt.) From that egg sprang the god Brahma, the
Creator. In the Upanishads, the hamsa is said to possess the sacred
knowledge of Brahma. Therefore, it symbolizes the elevation of the unformed
toward the Heaven of Knowledge. Brahma is often depicted riding on the hamsa

The hamsa is also used as a symbol of Narayana, an aspect of Vishnu, the
Preserver. In this context, the hamsa is a personification of the soul in
the universe. The flight of the hamsa symbolizes the escape from the cycle
of samsara, rebirth.

Not wanting to read too much into the hamsa on the stock, but I do wonder what which part of the above was significant in the Jaipur court?...., as there are a good few matchlocks surviving (from Jaipur)all with the two birds, (Hamsa) and the trisula.

Not got to the flowers yet, Or the elephant!

[Pukka Bundook]

Please pardon the trisula of posts!. .. :-)

For the sake of clarity, I wanted to keep these photos separate from the last post.
They are of toradors, almost certainly from the Jaipur court, to show more examples of this type. Even down to the badly done engraving and the same pierced trigger!
The last example may be earlier or later, as it has no trisula on the barrel But! It depicts Siva holding a trisula so the same idea is present.

[rickystl]

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

Please pardon the trisula of posts!. .. :-)

For the sake of clarity, I wanted to keep these photos separate from the last post.
They are of toradors, almost certainly from the Jaipur court, to show more examples of this type. Even down to the badly done engraving and the same pierced trigger!
The last example may be earlier or later, as it has no trisula on the barrel But! It depicts Siva holding a trisula so the same idea is present.

Hi Richard.

Just noticed something in these last photos you posted. The second photo from the top: Notice the round hole on the right, upper rear of the stock. Similar to the two photos below. One is on my gun, the other from a pic I Googled up. The hole is intentioal. But I have no idea what it was for (?) But I've seen this on others, and it's always on the right side. Any ideas ?

Thanks, Rick.

[Pukka Bundook]

Rick,

I am pleased you mentioned the hole in the rear of the breech-block.
I had meant to mention this and kept forgetting it!

It is for snuffing the match.
You will note than none of the arms with this hole have a match -snuffer on the side of the stock.
This is another point that ties all this type together.
It appears All these from Jaipur with the same decoration (or similar) have this match -hole. I must check, but believe it may be unique to Jaipur arms.
(Though not All Jaipur arms)

Very interesting! At least to yourself and myself, lol!

Edited to add;
My matchlock here also has that hole, (Didn't know if you could see it in any photos here)
Also,
Don't worry about the stock! It's well on the way repair -wise. I have photos to attach as soon as I get at it!
The horn for buttplate is from a Red Cylonese water buffalo, so quite apt.

Thanks for the offer of bone, but I have a good supply of old bone from the muskeg here on the farm, all a bit old and stained. Just need a few tiny pieces for missing inlay, though I do not want to replace quite all of it.

More soon Rick!

Richard.
And, edited to add first pics of repair to the stock.
After initial glueing I drilled two holes from the butt end up a few inches past the break, and inserted metal rods . I like to use wood pegs, but in this case the metal rods will add more rigidity.
As you can see, there are great big pieces of wood missing in some areas!
Added Wood pegs where the old screws were as well.
You can see there is not much left of the bottom inlay, just the elephant's trunk! Not sure how this looked originally, as most such emblems look like a ball with a trumpet, and this one had no large circular part adjoining. ...

[Pukka Bundook]

Rather than leave you worrying about the above mess, here are some pics of stage 2;

Had some very similar rosewood fortunately, for patching!

[rickystl]

Hi Richard.

WOW !!! That stock repair looks like it's coming along just fine. Great Work !!!
The use of metal rods versus wood pegs is a great idea in this case. Especially with that type of break, and the length of the butt stocks on these guns. And looks like that rosewood blended in very nice. Thanks for the pics with the update. I still like the iron mounts on these guns better than the brass mounts, especially if engraved.
YES!! I can see the hole in the rear of the breech block on yours also. OK. Used for snuffing the match. That was the only thought that occured to me. But when I looked in the hole of mine I could not see any evidence that it had been used for that purpose. Maybe it just had not been used. Also, I would think there would be some type of brass tube inside the hole for this use. But it would not really be necessary. Anyway, thanks for clearing this up. It's been one of those things that's bugged me for some time now. LOL.
Come to think of it, I have a supply of brass tubing in different diameters. Maybe I'll make a brass insert for the hole ? LOL

Rick

[Pukka Bundook]

Rick,

It just occurred to me that most decent pipes are made of rosewood, (Often called briar in smoking circles) and They don't burn away very fast, so merely snuffing a match would cause no problems whatsoever, LOL!

Pleased you think it's coming along.
The forestock had the rusty remains of a linen lining, so removed this and replaced it. New liner glued in. Then greased said liner and will grease barrel to ensure no rust forming.
I can see some areas where organic (I believe) bands have been, so will replace these as well.
Does yours have a band right at the tip of the foreend? This one has a chatty tin band there that is broken. I feel it would originally have been placed further back, on the metal re-enforcing.
I will have a look at your completed matchlock again, to see if this is of help, as they both obviously come from the same stable.

Has opportunity arisen for you to try yours yet? ...mine is getting close!

Richard.

Edited to add;
Rick, you may find this interesting! I did. :-)

http://jot101.com/2013/01/the-native...tiger-hunting/