Origin: Moors (Western Sahara, Morocco)

Local name: mukhala (Hassaniyya, حسانية‎‎‎)

Dating: early 20th century

Dimensions: MŻo/A/3987: length 147.7 cm, width (of butt) 16.0 cm, depth 7.0 cm

MŻo/A/3988: length 150.8 cm, width (of butt) 8.5 cm, depth 7.0 cm

Materials: wood, metal

Gunsmith techniques

Acquired by: Adam Rybinski, MŻo/A/3987 – Allegro auction, purchased from a Polish collector, 2015, MŻo/A/3988 – Allegro auction, purchased from a Polish collector, 2015,

The Moors are the modern inhabitants of southern Morocco, Mauritania, the southern part of Algeria. In European culture, they were known in the Middle Ages as the invaders of the Iberian Peninsula. They had a great influence on the culture of these areas, especially on architecture. By 711, the Muslim Moors had conquered the Christian Visigoths and occupied territories what are now Spain and Portugal, where they ruled until the Reconquista. The Moors ruled almost the entire Iberian Peninsula, which they called Al-Andalus. On January 2, 1492, Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrendered, as a consequence of which most of the Moors left the Iberian Peninsula. The modern Moors are mainly known as Northwest Africans.

The presented muskets are an example of muzzleloaders with a long barrel that allows for a relatively precise shot, as for this type of weapon. They were equipped with a flintlock, popular in Africa until the 19th century. This type of lock was invented in Europe around 1570 and spread in the second half of the 17th century, used in Europe until the mid-19th century, and still used in Africa today.

Pulling the trigger disengages the sear and releases the hammer, which swings forward causing the flint to strike a piece of steel called the “frizzen”. At the same time, the motion of the flint and hammer pushes the frizzen back, opening the cover to a concealed flash pan, which contains a small charge of gunpowder. As the flint strikes the frizzen it creates a spark which falls into the pan and ignites the powder. Flame burns through a small touch hole into the gun barrel and ignites the main propellant charge, causing the weapon to fire off the projectile. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flintlock_mechanism

Long shotguns - muskets are attributed to the southern regions of Morocco and the former Spanish Sahara. This weapon is distinguished from other Moroccan long guns by its conventional stock. Two basic styles can be distinguished: basic and inland [Tirri 2007: 574].

As followers of Islam, the Moors did not depict human and animal figures in their art, mainly plant and geometric elements prevailed. Such ornamentation is also found on the stocks and butts of the two presented rifles.

Bibliography:

Tirri, Anthony C., 2007, Islamic over Native Weapons of Colonial Africa 1800-1960, Indigo Publishing. https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamek_skałkowy, accessed November 2, 2022. 

 Edited by Lucjan Buchalik

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The purchase is co-financed by the Ministry of Culture, National Heritage and Sport as part of the National Institute of Museums and Collections' own program "Expansion of museum collections".