Caucasian Miquelet Rifle

[TVV]

Originally Posted by Norman McCormick

Hi Teodor,
Thank you for the kind words. I'm very happy with this latest acquisition and surprised that I'm not able to find any other examples in the Forum archives. The net is rather reticent on the subject and as the Caucasus is rather a large area I was hoping there were regional variations that would allow me to tie down the origins more concisely. Zifir was kind enough to take a look at the barrel stamp but was only able to translate 'made by' but not the name as it appears to be written in a Caucasian language/dialect unfamiliar to him, are you able to help re the name? I think the barrel has a pattern but my wife and I are in an apartment now and playing with 'chemistry' is difficult.
My Regards,
Norman.

Norman,
You are correct that there are limited references on the subject. The best is probably Astvatsaturian's "Arms of the People of the Caucasus", in Russian only. There she characterizies the lock on your rifle as "Kubachi type", and the author gives several illustrations of similar stamps on barrels. The form of the stock on your rifle is also typically Caucasian, but the decoration is puzzling. The typical Caucasian guns have lavish bands of silver with niello and the buttplates of ivory. The decoration on yours with this type of bone inserts actually looks to have a strong Balkan influence.
After the wars with Russia, many Circassians were forced to flee to various parts of the Ottoman Empire, and a large number of them re-settled in the Balkans. It is possible that this gun may have travelled to the Balkans with its owner, where it needed a replacement stock and a local craftsman was able to duplicate the shape, but decorated it in the local manner.
Regards,
Teodor