Matchlock carbine: O.31-1879

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

• Matchlock carbine
• Indian weapons
• sherbacha or tamancha

Categories

• Weapons

Description

Short, crude iron barrel of round section with an integral pan, back sight, slightly flaring muzzle with a moulding at the end of the stock, and bead fore sight. The stock is of dark wood, light and almost full length, with a bone breech cap decorated with double incised lines, a thin, five-sided butt with an iron butt cap, copper alloy side plates, one iron and three copper alloy barrel bands, a crude iron plate at the bottom hiding the trigger mechanism, and an iron tube for the lost vent pricker. At either end of the trigger plate under the stock is a bone inlaid flower formed of four small diamond-shaped inlays. Above these at the sides are two flowers inlaid in bone. An iron ramrod survives, and two crude belt swivels. The lock comprises a solid, d-shaped trigger attached by a simple linkage to a small, damaged serpentine

Legal notes

Given by Robert Taylor, MA

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Given (1879) by Taylor, Robert, MA

Dating

18th Century, Late
Circa 1760 CE - 1800 CE

Note

Called a pistol by Taylor, who uses the alternative term sherbacha for the missing carbine no. 30 (compare Egerton 1880: 144, no. 761–2, pl. xv)

This very short matchlock gun was loaded from the muzzle with gunpowder and a lead ball and fired by pulling the trigger which lowered a lighted match into the pan under the touch hole – hence the name matchlock. This type of firing mechanism was superseded in Europe by the 17th century but went on being used across Asia into the 19th century.