Russian cossack pistol

Jim McDougall · 23rd September 2019, 03:47 AM

Helleri, thank you so much, wonderful advice, and I will definitely take heed!
Udo, sorry for the detour, but the snakeskin is amazing on this pistol.

Can you say more on what details align this pistol to Georgia? I have a Cossack pistol, which I hope to get to soon, which is percussion, but I have no idea where it might be from. I have always suspected it was a Liege product, but do not know enough on these to go further. I will try to get to it or find photos asap.

corrado26 · 23rd September 2019, 07:42 AM

There is a very good book published by the Danish Arms and Armour Society as yearbook 2000:
Yurij A. Miller, Caucasian Arms from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg.
After this I located the pistol to Georgia but it could have been made in Dagestan too, the differences are very small.

From the second half of the 18th. century Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, began to play a dominant role in the art of weaponry of this country. But the Georgian origin of firearms is sometimes hard to establish, because gunmakers from Dagestan and Circassia worked in Tiflis in periods. When they created their worksthey used their own common methods and traditional decoration techniques.
Very interesting is that the barrel of my pistol has probably been made in Turkey. Turkish made gun and pistol barrels were famous for their high quality and so they were highly appreciated in the Middle East and the Cuacasus region. In fact they became so popular that they were even exported to Russia.

Jim McDougall · 23rd September 2019, 03:33 PM

This is excellent information Udo! I think you have explained one of the true conundrums of identifying arms from these and many Central Asian regions, the cross use of components as well as the artisans in regions working in other areas.
It seems that I have run into shashkas which are for all intents and purposes Daghestani, yet in actuality the weapon was from an entirely different part of the Caucusus. I guess this 'fine tuning' of learning often subtle nuances that identify character of workmanship specific to regional preference is key, and fascinating as we learn more.
Thank you for this insight, and for the heads up on this title!

rickystl · 9th October 2019, 06:24 PM

Hi Corodo

That is a great - and interesting example of a Caucasian pistol. I have never seen the use of snakeskin for decoration on a firearm. It's certainly attractive.
Wish it could "sliver" it's way to my house. LOL Great looking piece.

Rick

Kubur · 14th October 2019, 10:19 PM

I think the whole gun was covered with snake skin like many Caucasian pistols were covered with black leather... Look at the little nails or the holes of missing nails... I saw some kindjals with scabbards completely covered with snake skin.

Spottedbull · 1st January 2020, 12:07 PM

Beautiful pistol.

As a newbie to the study of black powder firearms that aren't from the US or Western Europe, I have a couple of questions.

Is the use of the three bands to secure the barrel a common practice? What materials are the bands made from?

What wood is the stock made from?

corrado26 · 2nd January 2020, 11:52 AM

Yes, the three brass and sivered bands of this pistol to fix the barrel were widely common and the stock is made of birch wood.
corrado26

23rd September 2019, 07:42 AM	#2
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,226	There is a very good book published by the Danish Arms and Armour Society as yearbook 2000: Yurij A. Miller, Caucasian Arms from the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg. After this I located the pistol to Georgia but it could have been made in Dagestan too, the differences are very small. From the second half of the 18th. century Tiflis, the capital of Georgia, began to play a dominant role in the art of weaponry of this country. But the Georgian origin of firearms is sometimes hard to establish, because gunmakers from Dagestan and Circassia worked in Tiflis in periods. When they created their worksthey used their own common methods and traditional decoration techniques. Very interesting is that the barrel of my pistol has probably been made in Turkey. Turkish made gun and pistol barrels were famous for their high quality and so they were highly appreciated in the Middle East and the Cuacasus region. In fact they became so popular that they were even exported to Russia. Last edited by corrado26; 23rd September 2019 at 06:09 PM.

23rd September 2019, 03:47 AM	#1
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,194	Helleri, thank you so much, wonderful advice, and I will definitely take heed! Udo, sorry for the detour, but the snakeskin is amazing on this pistol. Can you say more on what details align this pistol to Georgia? I have a Cossack pistol, which I hope to get to soon, which is percussion, but I have no idea where it might be from. I have always suspected it was a Liege product, but do not know enough on these to go further. I will try to get to it or find photos asap.

23rd September 2019, 03:33 PM	#3
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,194	This is excellent information Udo! I think you have explained one of the true conundrums of identifying arms from these and many Central Asian regions, the cross use of components as well as the artisans in regions working in other areas. It seems that I have run into shashkas which are for all intents and purposes Daghestani, yet in actuality the weapon was from an entirely different part of the Caucusus. I guess this 'fine tuning' of learning often subtle nuances that identify character of workmanship specific to regional preference is key, and fascinating as we learn more. Thank you for this insight, and for the heads up on this title!

9th October 2019, 06:24 PM	#4
rickystl Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: St. Louis, MO area. Posts: 1,630	Hi Corodo That is a great - and interesting example of a Caucasian pistol. I have never seen the use of snakeskin for decoration on a firearm. It's certainly attractive. Wish it could "sliver" it's way to my house. LOL Great looking piece. Rick

14th October 2019, 10:19 PM	#5
Kubur Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Posts: 2,145	I think the whole gun was covered with snake skin like many Caucasian pistols were covered with black leather... Look at the little nails or the holes of missing nails... I saw some kindjals with scabbards completely covered with snake skin.

1st January 2020, 12:07 PM	#6
Spottedbull Member Join Date: Dec 2019 Location: Maypearl, Texas USA Posts: 10	Beautiful pistol. As a newbie to the study of black powder firearms that aren't from the US or Western Europe, I have a couple of questions. Is the use of the three bands to secure the barrel a common practice? What materials are the bands made from? What wood is the stock made from?

2nd January 2020, 11:52 AM	#7
corrado26 Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Black Forest, Germany Posts: 1,226	Yes, the three brass and sivered bands of this pistol to fix the barrel were widely common and the stock is made of birch wood. corrado26