Beautiful miquelet rifle

Beautiful miquelet rifle

Caucasus, probably Dagestan, circa 1820-1830

The black chagrin-covered wooden stock is finished with a large section of walrus ivory and decorated with inlaid metal fillet forming a knotted arabesque and fleuron motif. The miquelet system features gold damascened decoration. The black chagrin-covered wooden shaft is matched with nielloed silver plates decorated with trilobes and palmettes. The bronzed barrel is signed and bears a plant motif on spiral arabesques in gold damascened. Four nielloed silver rings decorated with bilobed fleurons and palmettes attach the barrel to the butt. Gold-damascened bronzed steel ramrod (minor wear to leather, very good overall condition). L. 132 cm This beautiful miquelet-style rifle has a general shape that can be associated with the Caucasus and more particularly with Dagestan. It was probably made in the Dagestani village of Kubachi, the main armory center in the Caucasus. Its maker stamped the barrel: "'Amal ...". The high quality of manufacture suggests that it belonged to the entourage of the reigning prince (shāmkhāl). A rifle, with the same decorative elements, in the name of "Abā Muslim Khān Shamkhāl", is preserved at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, inv. 31.35.2. For a study of Dagestani weapons in the Tareq Rajab Museum, see: Elgood, R. (1995) Firearms of the Islamic World, London / New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers, Chapter VIII. For examples of Caucasian rifles, see: Hales, R. (2013) Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour - A lifetime's Passion, Robert Hales C.I. Ltd. p. 274, fig.664, most probably from the same workshop. Provenance : Jean-Charles Tauzin Collection (1889-1957) A very nice Caucasian miquelet flintlock rifle, probably Dagestan, circa 1820-1830