Small hand cannon?

[TH44]

With reference to my earlier post, I bought this from the same uk dealer 

 

I read a thread here some time ago about these but cannot find it now

 

From my recollection of the thread I take it this is a cast brass 20th century copy ?

 

 

 

 

Many thanks again

 

Tony (TH)

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Tony, how large is this?

 

Does it stand like that by itself?.

[TH44]

Hi Piers

 

It is 9 cm exactly and the bottom is flat apart from 1 cm from the muzzle, allowing it to stand as pictured

 

Thank you for your interest

 

Tony

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Tony. In general Kayaku-dameshi powder testers come in iterations not too different from yours, made of bronze or gunmetal.

The ones I have seen have been a little shorter, but one of them is actually just over 9 cm in length, similar to yours. 

The surface features of some look crisply made; others look to be made from a mold/cast of an original. One question will be as to when yours was made. Meiji has to be a strong contender.

The answer may not be recorded anywhere, so you should be prepared for a long consideration, weighing all the different factors. Keep notes, and come back and let us know what you have found!

 

In the meantime run searches like this one: http://www.militaria.co.za/nmb/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=search&fromMainBar=1