A short balkan musket

[eftihis]

Thank you very much for the translation kwiatek! Dear Philipp, here is the back of the lock.

[rickystl]

Hi Eftihis

Thanks for the lock photos.

The lock looks Portuguese to me also. One difference I notice is that the tumbler has to notches. One for safety and the upper for firing position. The Portuguese locks I've seen have only one firing notch on the tumbler as shown on the lock I posted. There is usually a thumb piece in front of the hammer neck that can be rotated to engage a slot in the neck of the hammer to act as a safety. Maybe yours is a different variant (?)
Philip can address these Portuguese locks better when he returns.

Again, very interesting gun with a mix of cultures.

Rick

[Philip]

Thanks for the additional photos showing us the lock interior.

What you see is perhaps a North African- made version of the most common of the Portuguese-designed flint mechanisms. It's called a fecho de nó or "knot" lock. I can't explain the significance of the term, it appears to be period nomenclature and not a later collectors' neologism, like "miquelet" or "mortuary sword" coined generations after the fact.

Be that as it may, the essentials of the fecho de nó are a typical flintlock tumbler and sear system with half- and full cock detents. On a lock with external cosmetic or stylistic features that are typically Portuguese.

Rick points out that there is a similar-looking one that has a gravity- or thumb operated pivoting stop on the outside of the plate that serves as a safety, engaging a notch at the base of the cock. That type of lock is called fecho meio à portuguesa e meio à francesa, or lock half-Portuguese and half-French. It has a French-style tumbler and sear arrangement (though without half-cock notch) and the Portuguese pivoting safety which is seen on yet further variations of flintlock mechansms from this country. Please refer to post #14 for the late export example that he shared with us.

It's important to note that despite the Portuguese preference for these pivoting safeties, the behind-the-cock "dog" that was popular in parts of northern Europe (especially England) was not favored here.

[Philip]

Attached are a couple of photos showing an example of a fecho de nó made in the 19th cent. for export, probably at Braga (Portugal) or Liège. It is "in the white", unused and most likely never installed on a gun. Compared to the obvious production shortcuts and fairly crude finish of the example already on the gun under consideration (not to mention late-production export trade guns from Belgium), the build quality is quite good on this one and the mechanical essentials are the same.

There was quite a market for flintlock guns in Africa down to the eve of the First World War despite the growing use of percussion systems worldwide. Because of the long Portuguese presence in some parts of the continent, there was continued demand for archaic flint systems such as this due to the strength of tradition. The complete guns varied a lot in quality; the typical trade musket was cheaply made, often with a red-painted stock studded with brass upholstery tacks and incorporating a small mirror on the buttstock. (again I refer you to Rick's post #14 showing the extremely rough quality of the locks used on such guns, and his mention of the effort needed to tune it up to work properly). However, one occasionally sees very well made ones, obviously for sale to persons of means. The popular name for these guns in Portuguese style was Lazarinos, in tribute to the Brescian family of barrel-makers who flourished a couple centuries earlier.

[Philip]

Here is a higher-class example of a 19th cent. Liège-made fowler in Portuguese style,of better quality than the average "trade" musket, with a hybrid Portuguese-French lock as explained previously

[eftihis]

Dear Philipp,
Regarding the use of flintlocks after the introduction of cupslock, i believe the main reason is the higher difficulty in aquiring cups than gunpowder. For an intependant fighter in a remote area, non supplied by an army depot, is much more easy to resupply for gunpowder, that can come for many sources and sometimes even produced localy, than to have to find gunpowder and cups, which is an industrial product.
I find extremely interesting your comment about the lazarino muskets. Here in Crete we had the term "lazarina" for localy made long muskets, copies of the French pattern in the oriental style for export as the example seen here. The name was supposely given because initially these muskets had trade barells made by the "Lazarino" or "Lazarini" brands.

[rickystl]

Philip: Thanks for the additional information ref these Portuguese style locks.
The photo of the lock on your Post #24 you can immediately see the French styling for the lock plate. Most interesting.

Eftihis: While locally made, Eastern market guns in percussion are not rare, they only turn up occasionally. The likely reason is as you mention. Availability and cost. Hard to believe flintlocks and miquelets continued in use at least through the 3rd quarter of the 19th Century in the Eastern markets.

Rick

[Philip]

Originally Posted by eftihis

Dear Philipp,
Regarding the use of flintlocks after the introduction of cupslock, i believe the main reason is the higher difficulty in aquiring cups than gunpowder. For an intependant fighter in a remote area, non supplied by an army depot, is much more easy to resupply for gunpowder, that can come for many sources and sometimes even produced localy, than to have to find gunpowder and cups, which is an industrial product.
I find extremely interesting your comment about the lazarino muskets. Here in Crete we had the term "lazarina" for localy made long muskets, copies of the French pattern in the oriental style for export as the example seen here. The name was supposely given because initially these muskets had trade barells made by the "Lazarino" or "Lazarini" brands.

That is an impressive example of a Cretan-made gun! It appears to have a higher standard of fit and finish than many Balkan guns, and the heavily French design of the stock is quite elegant, too. A wonderful piece, I hope it's yours but wish it were mine. The Oriental style is quite apparent in the numerous silver capucines holding the barrel to the stock, something not fashionable in Europe.

I agree with your comment about the relative ease of obtaining flints (which could be made locally), as opposed to percussion caps which had to be imported and could be difficult to get in remote areas. Note that the flint-knapping industry in Brandon, southern England, kept going into the early 20th century, the only such large-scale production of gunflints left in Europe at the time. Very appropriate for England, which still ran the largest colonial empire in the world and thus saw a ready demand for such products until the market finally fizzled out after the First World War.