DESCRIPTION: Fantastic quality Turkish turn of the 18/19th Century rifled musket with miquelet style lock. Caliber: 16 mm. Very high quality octagonal barrel with silver inlaid decorative floral motifs. The barrel has heavy walls, allowing deeply cut rifling in octagonal pattern. The miquelet style lock is also nicely decorated with silver inlays. Four brass barrel bands display some simple floral style decoration. The musket has classic old Turkish style rear sight. Elaborately decorated dark hardwood stock with floral and geometrical motifs. Classic old-Turkish style two piece buttstock with no buttplate. The stock displays a very nice ivory and brass inlays in geometrical and/or floral patterns. The sling holes are reinforced with ivory, or bone inlays. The forestock has a ivory nosecap. The ramrod is missing. Overall length: 46.50 inch. Barrel length: 32.75 inch. CONDITION: Overall, the musket is in very good condition. Minor losses of decorative elements on the stock. Some brass decorative nails are also missing. The stock has some age hairline cracks, mainly along the barrel lines. Some small blocks of wood were replaced in the stock. The barrel is covered by some scattered, light patina (uncleaned). No pitting. The miquelet style lock works fine. Silver inlays on the barrel and lock are nicely preserved. The sling holes are plugged with some kind of the filling material. One piece of ivory around the left/rear sling hole was replaced with some kind of mother of pear imitating material. High quality Turkish miquelet musket displaying fantastic decorative art! (Ref. "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor", by George Cameron Stone , p. 258).
