C1790-1800s **MASSIVE** Indian Toradar-type Matchlock Rampart Musket (Davey's Antique Arms CC)

(Ref. A00002)
"A matchlock musket of Indian origin. This sample has an impressive overall length (5 foot 8 inches, or 69.6 inches). Due to its cheap, simple and effective design at the time, it became a staple in the Mughal Empire's arsenal in South Asia. Starting out as being in use from the 16th century up until the mid-19th century, Toradar muskets also typically beared markings, usually decorative imagery of animal figures that are native to their users' home regions (more often than not, within India and its surrounding territories), which indicates that at least a fair portion of them were used for hunting. The remainder, like this example, are seen to be bearing little to no markings at all, with this particular example having only having a few etched, non-descript markings on the sides of the musket's body, adjacent to its sights and matchlock mechanism. Matchlock muskets, including those of Indian origin, were locally known as "tufangs", a Punjabi word meaning "gun", or any tube from which a missile or other projectile can be fired. Matchlock muskets in India were not favoured initially, up until the reign of Akbar I (1542-1605, also known as Akbar the Great, or Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar), which saw an increase in their use. Despite this example of the Toradar showing signs of its age, the wooden furniture appears to be in good condition. The surface of the musket's iron plates also show signs of age, connected to the musket's large, curved stock. The serpentine connected to the matchlock mechanism is present, with the action itself and trigger working as it should, though the flash pan's cover is absent. It also comes complete with a large ramrod which fits nicely under the musket's barrel. The ramrod itself can be removed and reapplied in its dedicated slot without issue. This musket's use on a fixed structure (as a "rampart" gun, used on or within fortification architecture), such as a post or wall, can be attributed to its large size, as it would be very impractical to carry a musket of this size around on the battlefield. A rather unusual cannon barrel can be seen on this 8 bore musket."

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