Novice Son

Thank you Piers. I had noticed that some of the firearms posted had a "saying" on them, and thought that might be what it was. It didn't want to be presumptuous though. The explanation regarding the Chinese makes perfect sense, especially with the analogy to Latin. The philosophy regarding decoration is similar in other antique firearm realms, so that would make sense as well. I agree, the knowledge we have about these firearms is very little here, and I think it very much affects the private sale price. Again, I very much appreciate the help Piers. Bob

Piers, Thank you as well sir. The two barrel bands absolutely makes sense, especially considering the location of the first. I very much appreciate the translations. I'll try to get a better shot of the right side of the barrel. I have a couple of beginner questions, I hope they aren't too bothersome. Why would there be stylistic Chinese characters on the top? I purchased this from a friend out of his private collection. My next question comes because I am a fairly honest man and because I honestly don't know. I think I have a general idea of the value of Matchlocks, but can any of you give me a rough estimate of what the value of this would be on the American market? He is a friend, and I really want to make sure he is properly taking care of. I'm also very much curious about the differences between the highly decorated, moderately decorated, and plain Matchlocks. I have noticed, because of the threads on this board, that the plain Matchlocks were probably for military use. Does that mean the highly decorated matchlocks were rarely used as intended? Were they used as status symbols and only displayed? Also, would it be fair to assume that the highly decorated matchlocks were probably only for a someone of high status? Thank you everyone for the assistance thus far.

Malcolm, Thank you sir for the recommendations. Jan/Jam, Thank you sir for sharing your knowledge with me. Bob

Thank you for your analysis sir and in the future I will absolutely sign my name. I've actually collected antique firearms for a good portion of my young life, and have looked at Japanese Matchlocks on the internet in absolutely awe of their beauty, but I'm almost completely ignorant to everything regarding them. This matchlock looked so much different than most of the examples I've seen, seemed to be original, and was most importantly available to me for purchase, so I decided to roll the dice. I'm certainly relieved to hear your congratulations, rather than the information I've bought an elaborate fake from the popular but unknown Japanese Matchlock Black Market. Bob

Hello Gentlemen, I'm quite new to Japanese Matchlock's and this board seemed very knowledge on the subject, so I was wondering you fine gentlemen could help me with mine. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Also, if anyone could point me in the direction of a book, or website that has a good comprehensive study and explanation of the history and evolution of Japanese Matchlock's for a beginner, I would greatly appreciate that as well. Thank you in advance.