Pearl and silver inlaid flintlock musket

length: 41"
barrel: 27"

I'm presenting this flintlock musket as a favor for an ill friend who needs to exchange some of his collection for medication (guns for drugs, that's kind of cool in an ilicit way - except that this is totally licit). This flintlock musket is a really nice example of the gunsmith's art, inlaid with mother-of-pearl plates on the stock and forearm, with silver inlay on the barrel. The firing mechanism is a bit mushy (at least compared to modern firearms), but works. No ramrod, no place for one. Barrel appears to be smoothbore, not rifled, but it's hard to tell without a good internal cleaning (which will be up to you, not us). Estimations are that it's somewhere between .45 and .50 caliber. A craftsman friend who examined this musket felt that there were some minor repairs (such as fresh screws) that had been done sometime in the early 1900's, which would have still been well within the working life of this weapon. Condition is very good to excellent.

I pride myself as having gotten really good over the past twenty years at identifying bladed weapons from cultures all over the world - let's see if I can nail this firearm. I'm of two possible opinions - it's either from the Indian subcontinent (or someplace really close, i.e. one of the -istan's) or it's sub-Saharan African, from the Ivory Coast / Mauritania area. Comments on my estimations welcome (be nice), and full identification most thankfully accepted. I do not currently have this item in hand, but I'll answer questions to the best of my ability from the descriptions I've been given, and will of course contact the seller for the really hard questions. This is an antique firearm produced in a second or third-world country, I highly recommend that you not try to fire it unless you *really* know what you're doing and have consulted with an antique firearms professional. No FFL required for purchase, must write letter of introduction and pay with credit card to prove legal age.

5/07/01