help with matchlock signature please

[Mark]

i have a matchlock with a signed barrel. It is rusted so hard to read. can anyone help? Maybe someone familiar with these may "know" what it says even if hard to read

 

all help appreciated

 

thanks

 

mark

[Bugyotsuji]

Hmmm… that’s a tough one, just on the edge of legible. Might help if you use oil, or talcum powder, etc.(?)

[Mark]

Piers, thanks!  I tried a little oil hope it helps. i appreciate the try

[DTM72]

Mark, I had one like that condition. I used some tsubaki oil and a bamboo chopstick, broken in half. I used the rough break end to rub on the surface and it removed the loose rust, but not the patina.

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Two things are starting to come out, Mark.
 

It could be a rather rare 拾五匁 15 Monmé gun.

 

And the final name 絞三… (?) ends with 重峯. Putting some other letters together and cross-checking with gunsmith lists, it might… be possible to work out who this is and where they worked. Do you have a side view of the whole gun? (Quite often that can help pinpoint the area, which considerably reduces the work load at this end.)

[Nobody]

Maybe,

國友紋三郎重峯 - Kunitomo Monzaburo Shigemine

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Excellent, Moriyama San!

 

力薬拾五匁 could mean the powder or proof load. There is a 3.5 Monmé gun by this smith with this inscription, 國友紋三郎重峯 - Kunitomo Monzaburo Shigemine

in the Tokugawa Bijutsukan who worked in Owari no Kuni (尾州) around Kaei 嘉永. 
 

*Which finger can you fit into the muzzle Mark, and to which joint?

[Mark]

Thanks!!!   appreciate it

 

the gun is in poor condition, missing parts, damaged stock  but here are pictures...... the barrel alone weighs about 18lbs.

 

[Brian]

Interested to know what the asking price would be if/when you sell it. Need a project to work on for the next 20 years to keep me busy

[Bugyotsuji]

That is heavy. Definitely not 3.5 Monmé. Despite the damage it is obviously a good quality large gun and could well be a 15 Monmé Ōzutsu, which is 2.1 cm bore as I recall.

 

A Kunitomo smith called to serve in Owari.