This is the only gun in Moore’s collection and the first firearm acquired by The Met. An exceptional representative of the Sri Lankan gun making tradition, it measures more than seven feet in length and features a bifurcated butt stock—a characteristic typical of Sinhalese guns. A principal medium of Sinhalese artisans for centuries, carved ivory was employed to embellish everything from architectural elements to book covers. Echoes of this gun’s striking design feature in Tiffany’s firearms, including the sculptural treatments of the silver pistol grips and the application of finely worked precious materials into the mounts.
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Dimensions:L. 87 1/4 in. (221.6 cm); L. of barrel 73 3/4 in. (187.3 cm); Cal. .53 in. (13.5 mm); Wt. 11 lb. 2 oz. (5046 g)
Classification:Firearms
Credit Line:Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891
Accession Number:91.1.907
Edward C. Moore, New York (until d. 1891; his bequest to MMA).
Kaemmerer, Georges de. T︡Sarskoselʹskiĭ Arsenal, ili, Sobranie Oruzhi︠i︡a = Arsenal de Tsarskoé-Selo, ou, Collection d'armes de sa majesté l'Empereur de toutes les Russies. St. Petersburg, Russia, 1869. pl. XVII, figs. 1, 1a (similar flintlock guns).
Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Portland, ME: Southworth Press, 1934. p. 263, fig. 325.
Stone, George Cameron. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. New York: Jack Brussel, Pub., 1961. p. 263, fig. 325.
Stone, George Cameron, and Donald J. La Rocca. A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor in All Countries and in All Times, Together with Some Closely Related Subjects. Mineola, N.Y.: Dover Publications, 1999. p. 263, fig. 325.
Pieris, J. F. "A King of Ceylon's Gun." The Connoisseur (Sept. 1936), pp. 153–55 (a similar flintlock gun).
Peterson, Harold L. Encyclopaedia of Firearms, edited by Harold L. Peterson. London: Connoisseur, 1964. p. 211, ill. (called Miquelet from Ceylon).
Blackmore, Howard. Guns and Rifles of the World. London: B. T. Batsford, 1965. fig. 277 (called Cingalese, early 18th century).
Daehnhardt, Rainer. Espingareda Feiticeira: A Introdução da Arma de Fogo Pelos Portugueses no Extremo Oriente = The Bewitched Gun: The Introduction of the Firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese. Texto Editora, 1994. p. 54, ill. (called Cingalo-Portuguese with a Cingalese Anselmo flintlock with dog catch).
Elgood, Robert. Firearms of the Islamic World in the Tareq Rajab Museum, Kuwait. London: I. B. Tauris, 1995. p. 189.
Daehnhardt, Rainer. "Primeiros Passos para uma Introdução ao Estudo do Início do Fabrico de Armas de Fogo no Mundo Português, 1450–1650 (First Steps Towards an Introduction into the Study of Early Gunmaking in the Portuguese World, 1450–1650)." Boletim da Sociedade Portuguesa de Armas Antigas (Bulletin of the Portuguese Academy of Antique Arms) (July 1997), pp. 19, 27, ill.
Byck, John. "Firearms in The Metropolitan Museum of Art." Arsenals of History: Firearms and Museums in the 21st Century (2018), p. 44.
Reddy, Ravinder. Arms & Armour of India, Nepal & Sri Lanka: Types, Decoration and Symbolism. London: Hali Publications Limited, 2018. p. 199, ill.
Higgins Harvey, Medill. Collecting Inspiration: Edward C. Moore at Tiffany & Co.. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2021. pp. 184–85, 273–74, no. 119, fig. 65.
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