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A very rare and early Tibetan gun, likely Eastern Tibet. This form of a gun with the decoration in chiseled and decorated bone is known through only one other institutional example in the Newark Museum of Art (Accession Number 11.639) and published in the book the Warriors of the Himalayas, making this the only known example of this type of Tibetan gun to come up for sale in recent memory.
Matchlock muskets were first introduced into Tibet during the 16th or 17th century, probably via China and India or through other trade routes or diplomatic contacts. This gun is mounted with a barrel marked to the Dutch East India company, likely acquired through trade, and with an apocryphal date indicating the value of the barrel. Although more technologically advanced forms of firearms were known in Tibet by the late 19th century, matchlocks continued to be used regularly well into the 20th century. Most Tibetan matchlocks are plain, functional hunting weapons, with little or no ornament but examples such as this fully covered in the decoration of a distinct and rare form can be identified as a votive or ritual object. The third broad category of Tibetan firearms, to which this example belongs, comprises muskets with varying degrees of decoration, but fully functional and intended for secular use. The workmanship of the embossed plaques covering its stock has many parallels, in terms of style, technique, and design, in secular and religious silver objects produced in Tibet in the 17th-19th centuries. Early 19th century.
Dimensions: L: 55 1/2 in., (141 cm.)
Condition: Good overall
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