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watsonmil

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Everything posted by watsonmil

  1. Dear All, Years ago, ... I was told : Women have two places in life and one of them is the kitchen. The second was obviously not museums nor antique shops/shows ! ... Anonymouse Ron
  2. Dear Jon, Please read my second last reply to your thread, ... your gun is most probably early to mid 19th century. Yes, ... the Edo period ran from 1603 - 1867. If you want to make a slow match, here is a link : http://www.musketeer.ch/blackpowder/lunte.html ... Ron Watson
  3. Dear Jon, Piers has answered most of your questions. Regarding the loose breach plug ( bizen ) .... On the Japanese matchlocks, the breach plugs rarely fitted properly. The Japanese technology of cutting thread was not up to standards and consequently the breach plugs were often not tight enough to make a proper gas seal. The Japanese solution to this was to wrap sheet lead around the male thread and then screw the breach plug into the barrel. The lead took up the looseness and once the gun was fired a few times, the fouling finished the job of providing a seal from the inside ! The silver around the muzzle is simply a type of inlay using a technique known as nunome zogan. ( hammering silver onto a filed surface so that the silver sticks to the iron ) ... you can actually see the file marks in your photograph if you look closely. This is not repair work as Piers erroneously stated. Next, ... you mention the inside of the barrel being somewhat pitted. DO NOT ream the barrel out to get rid of these as this is STICTLY against the rules of the Tanegashima competitions ( as is sleeving or adding rifling ). If the gun is not fit to shoot as original ( inside barrel ), ... then you cannot compete with it in regulated competition. A little pitting will generally not disqualify your gun from competition. Next, ... regarding the number 23. This is probably number 23 of a lot order by one daimyo ( clan leader ) for his troops. The inlay work would have been added later as Piers states for the attractiveness of sale to Europeans. It is not the quality of work nor is the overall quality of the gun of the caliber to be a special order for a wealthy Samurai. Your gun is in nice condition and I would place its manufacture at early to mid 19th century. It is not however a masterpiece, ... just a good serviceable firearm. ... Ron Watson PS. My opinion is to leave the inlay work as is. I would not recommend having some craftsman touch up ANY of the inlay as I see it, ... as it appears to my eyes to be good and original Japanese craftsmanship.
  4. Dear Piers, That is most unusual, ... a Sakai/Settsu smith ?? I guess I should not be overly surprised given the free license some of these smiths worked under. I expected to see Kunitomo in the kanji, ... but NO ! The more I see of the Tanegashima ... the more confusing it becomes. After all, ... a Winchester looks nothing compared to a Remington, ..... until the age of the bolt rifle and then it takes the novice some time to spot the differences even though to the trained eye they are obvious. In the case of the Tanegashima often so little follow a standard it is often difficult even for a person with the knowledge and a good eye to put two and two together. I'd be interested to hear your opinion on this by the way. ... Ron Watson
  5. Dear Jon, Your matchlock ( Tanegashima ) appears to be a Kunitomo Gun. We should get a clue once the signature is translated. The town of Kunitomo is located in the central part of Honshu Island quite near Lake Biwa. There are many styles of Tanegashima ( often mixed ) but to my eyes at least your gun displays more characteristics of the Kunitomo than any other school. You gun of course is missing it's ramrod ( karuka ) and I note it is also missing a brass plate which protects the barrel from the burning of flash powder. This brass plate is called an Amaooi. The first thing you will want to do is to check and see if the gun is still loaded. To do this get a wooden dowel long enough to reach the bottom of the barrel. If it stops say 3/4 of an inch above the touch hole then you will know it is loaded with at least powder and wadding if not powder wadding and ball. About half the tanegashima I own were still loaded at the time I received them. If it is loaded and you are not familiar with a ball pulling worm to unload the gun then contact me at : watsonr@mts.net and I shall respond. I also note what appears to be a lack of breach plug end ( usually square ), .... could you please post a photo of the breach plug ? Someone else will have to assist you with the mon on the barrel as there are usually several possibilities. Overall a nice restorable tanegashima from what I can see. ... Ron Watson
  6. Dear Bernard, Another excellent kiseru. Where in the world are you coming up with these ? This last example although much more subdued than the first is never the less very tastefully done. Again thank you ! ... Ron Watson
  7. Dear Bernard, I too am a collector of Kiseru and accompanying accoutrements and I can assure you that the Kiseru you picture is very high quality. Assuming ( not much doubt ) that it is silver, ... the wave theme is well rendered. Someone else will render a reading of the Kanji. It is without doubt the maker's name. One does not see many elaborately carved Kiseru until after the banning of sword in 1871. At this time the tosogu-shi being out of work making sword fittings turned their attention to the craftsmanship of fine Kiseru, tobacco pouch clasps (kanagu ). The Meiji ended the sumptuous laws regulating the use of silver and gold, ... consequently many fine Kiseru were created during this period. Thank you for the photograph. ... Ron Watson
  8. Dear Piers There I go again with that terrible word " obviously " ! ... a private joke between Piers and myself. ...Ron Watson
  9. watsonmil

    Menuki theme?

    Dear Denis, Although partially covered, ... it appears to be a HO HO bird ( Phoenix ). ... Ron Watson
  10. Dear Piers, Love seeing the Kanji on the bottom ! Is it inscribed ( cut ) into the glass, ... or an ink notation ? Because you are a collector of Japanese art/antiques, I would strongly suggest you watch for other Japanese made antique scientific instruments. Some are quite amusing and ALL are considered very rare. Even basic instruments such as your thermometer which is obviously Japanese made are quite desirable. ... Ron Watson
  11. Dear Piers, It looks as though it may hold a thermometer. ... Ron Watson
  12. Dear Barry & Guido, Thank you both for sharing your DTI experiences via photos. Barry, ... I can see what you mean by " sticker shock " ! ... Ron Watson
  13. Dear All, Orientals treat business as war. ... Ron Watson
  14. Dear All, Firstly since most of you are strictly Nihonto, Kodogu collectors, ... there is a whole other world out there of Japanese Art collectors. Here is a definition site for Netsuke Collectors : http://www.janeljacobson.com/netsukedescrip.html Although most netsuke are small sculptures of people, Gods, animals, ... there are also other types of Netsuke such as miniature ashtrays, abumi, tools, and matchlocks ( rare ). The ones you will normally see on eBay are Chinese or Japanese copies or just plain forgeries. The real ones are of a high quality ( such as the one pictured by Lindus ) and do work mechanically. Very few however have a touchhole entering fully into the barrel, and thus cannot be fired ... although there are exceptions. To answer Brian, .... I would refer him as an example to Bonhams Auction of Fine Japanese Works of Art, ... September 13, 2011, ... lot 2019 ... Japanese Netsuke in the form of a Matchlock Pistol .... SOLD ... $ 1625.00. In my opinion, this example that Lindus pictures is at least as good as the one sold at that time. They rarely come up for sale, ... and consequently fetch a good price. In fact the only other example I could find via an exhaustive search was an example sold in 1997 for $ 2300.00 US. ... Ron Watson
  15. Dear Roy, It would appear to be genuine. It is my assumption on viewing the first top right hand photo that the stock material may well be ivory. NOTE the grain in the material, ... certainly not bone, and YES ivory can tone to a yellowish colour. Sometimes ivory is also stained, and although this piece seems to be very yellow, ... it is not unheard of .... or possibly due to your lighting when photographing ?? This can easily be tested by the application of the tip of a red hot needle to an area of the inside of the stock ( the bed ) to see if it penetrates, or just leaves a tiny black mark. If the needle penetrates then its bakelite, if not then its ivory. Given the fact I am almost positive the stock is of ivory, and the overall quality and detail of the work, .... I am 99 44/100 % sure it is genuine. There are Chinese copies out there BUT none are of this quality. It appears to be a winner, ... value is always subjective, but I would suggest current auction value to be between $ 1500.00 and $ 2000.00 US perhaps a bit higher. ... Ron Watson
  16. Dear Mike, Do not polish the brass, ... leave it alone. Also, I am happy you are going to attempt basic restoration. If I can be of any assistance you can e-mail me at my personal e-mail address: watsonr@mts.net ... Ron Watson
  17. Dear Henk-Jan, You've got to be trying to pull my chain ! ... ... and you're succeeding . We're discussing a fine Japanese Art form here not something resembling a bloody Picasso. ... Ron Watson
  18. Dear Peter, Here's an example of a barrel inlay from a Sakai Tanegashima dated 1825 that I own. It depicts Kwanyu , a celebrated Chinese General of the 2nd century deified by the Japanese in 1594 as the God of War. He is usually depicted carrying his large spear. The inlay work is finely done in brass, silver, and copper. Now compare the inlay of mike's example. Usually if we find inlay on the barrel of a Tanegashima it is of very high quality. ... Ron Watson
  19. Dear Mike, Well no damages here. I therefore stick to my observation that the gun can be restored, but for the inlay. It would look quite presentable restored. I would give the stock a light washing with mild soap and a damp cloth to get off the crud. I would then oil the barrel with some 3 in 1 machine oil to brighten it up a bit and wipe off the rust. I would then give the stock a good wipe down INSIDE and OUT with Lemon Oil ( good quality furniture oil ) to bring out the wood grain and give it some luster and body. Repeat every week or so, and you will begin to see a difference. The ramrod can easily be replaced by visiting a lumber yard and picking up a suitable piece of oak dowling. ... Ron Watson
  20. Dear Brian, You noticed too. I did not comment on the fact that the inlay depicts an apparent Westerner. I commented instead that the inlay was amateurish and poorly executed. This is one of the reasons I give for thinking the gun is rather late production. ... Ron Watson
  21. Dear Mike, A picture ( side view ) of the muzzle and forend wood please. Thanks, ... Ron PS. Piers and I are having our e-mails crossing today ! Listen to Piers, and George, ... I own seven matchlocks, and out of 7 , ... 3 were still loaded upon receipt. The reason why muzzle loading firearms were often left loaded was because the only easy way of unloading was to fire them, ... and this then necessitated a cleaning operation taking up an hour of time plus a messy job. It was just more convenient to leave them loaded. Convenient but not a good idea !
  22. Dear Mike, Hate to ask for one more picture, ... but a photo of the breach plug would possibly confirm my suspicions that this is of the Tazuke Ryu ( school ). Also a photo of the muzzle and end stock ( side view please ). Most Tanegashima have a square end to the breach screw ( plug ), but for some reason many of the Tazuke Ryu sweated their breach plugs in place ( not threaded ), and therefore round. The butt is missing a brass reinforcing band which helped protect the butt when held against the ground for loading. The configuration of the pan and pan cover to me at least also confirm this to be somewhat of an aberrant however even for the Tazuke Ryu. PIERS, ... help me out here, ... have you seen this style of pan before ? The serpentine is squashed where the match cord fits. Part of the brass barrel protector ( amaooi ) appears also to be missing. It is my opinion ( but first I'd like to see a photo of any damage to the stock near the muzzle ) that the gun could be restored or at least vastly improved. I would not spend a great deal of money on restoration however as the inlay work on the barrel would be very difficult to do correct, and given its amateurish work to begin with this is not a high quality Tanegashima. Unusual yes, but not a great Tanegashima. ... Ron Watson PS. Just noticed Piers and my post have crossed paths in cyber space.
  23. Dear Mike, Your gun is somewhat unusual in a several of ways. These Flat Butt guns were produced not in one region, but several. Know examples were made in Kunitomo, and Sakai among other areas. Virtually all have a serpentines with a bamboo design near the pivoting pin. Virtually all are made with an inside coil spring rather than the outside spring as seen on your example. The pan cover too is unusual in shape. Next the inlay on the top of the barrel is rather crude and poorly executed for a Tanegashima. My opinion is that it may well be late in manufacture as the quality is just not there for an early example. In 1871, the Emperor Meiji forbade the wearing of swords as a first step in Westernizing the Army. The Samurai, thus stripped of their traditional swords turned to foreign pistols for personal adornment. This brought about fear in government circles ( got rid of one weapon from the samurai, the sword only to have them adopt an even more dangerous pistol ). A special bureau was established to register every firearm in the country. This began in 1872. It is interesting to note, even with the influx of modern western type firearms, ... a few die hard Matchlock Smiths were still producing traditional Tanegashima. One such Smith was a man named Rikizo Yoshida and he was known to be making traditional Tanegashima during the period 1870 - 1896. He may well have been the last. I am quite proud to own one of his Tanegashima, and the quality is top notch. If you have the inkling, ... I would like to see a close up of the entire lock, a close up of the pan cover assemblage, the butt end and side view of the butt end. Also the stock pin hole covers ( Mekugi ana covers ). Also a side view near the muzzle of the gun. ... Ron Watson
  24. Dear Piers, From the few photographs you have provided, ... it would be my opinion that your example falls under the heading of " form of currency ". With that size of touch hole, you would have as much back gas escape as pressure forcing any projectile down the barrel. By the way, ... I would also say yours is in all probability GENUINE and a lovely example of something that has become quite rare ( the small status symbol and currency cannon of Borneo ). ... Ron Watson
  25. Dear Piers, Your cannon is known as a Lantaka. They were found in the Philippines, Malaysia, and in particular Borneo. Many were cast in Brunei on the north coast of Borneo. Although a few were large ( slightly over a hundred pounds ), ... most were smaller and often mounted on a ship's railings for defense. Smaller ones like your example were primarily used as currency and were often traded to pay off debts, as dowry for brides, ... or to buy something as we would use cash. Most are poorly cast, and never really intended for firing as they are more of a status symbol of wealth than a weapon. They are still being cast today to supply the tourist trade and of course the fake antiquities dealers. ... Ron Watson PS. Here's a place specializing in their sale : http://www.cannonsuperstore.com/lantakas.htm They generally are not worth a great deal, and being poorly cast are not really safe to fire. I've seen them with off center bores, and any number of other faults. Some were even cast in Portugal ( better quality ) for trade to Malaysia. The old original stuff from Malaysia have mostly been picked up years ago.
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