-->
A Chinese signal gun made in
the 18th century. The bronze weapon has a pair of lugs to fix it to the wooden
stock in which it was originally held. Bronze was favoured for gun barrels at
this date as methods of casting iron were prone to create tiny flaws that might
cause the barrel to burst when fired. The dragon writhing along the barrel has
four claws on each foot, marking this as part of the arsenal of a nobleman.
Imperial forces would have been decorated with the five toed dragon of the
Emperor.
from "Rifles" by Rupert Matthews
Get your copy HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment