DESCRIPTION: Fantastic quality Bulgarian/Turkish Boyljya musket with a miquelet style lock. The latter is in the typical Bulgarian style with a nicely curved semi-circle hammer. Caliber: 16 mm. Bulgaria was a major arms production center for the Ottoman Empire in 18th and 19th Centuries. It manufactured two distinct styles of the long guns: Boyliya and Shishane. Boyliya was a very long smoothbore musket with a thin and highly decorated hardwood stock. Boyliya had a light, thin and very long barrel. Shishane was a rifled musket with a short and heavy barrel. It had Turkish style miquelet lock and was very similar to a Turkish Tufek. This Boyliya musket features a very high quality round barrel with a flat rib. The entire length of the barrel shows a gold koftgari decoration in floral motifs. The back of the barrel displays a gun maker signature (please, see pictures). The barrel has thin walls, which is a typical feature of all Boyliya muskets. The barrel tang displays a manufacturing date in a Moslem calendar, "1230" (1852 A.D.). The miquelet style lock is nicely engraved in geometrical motifs. The base of the lock is decorated with three corrals. Five brass barrel bands also display floral and geometrical style decoration. The hardwood stock is covered with elaborately decorated brass plates. There are two sling swivels attached to the left side of the stock. The musket is complete with an original iron ramrod. Overall length: 59.75 inch. Barrel length: 44.25 inch. CONDITION: Overall, the musket is in low excellent condition. Minor wear in the upper part of the brass buttplate. The barrel is covered by a uniform layer of light, smooth patina (uncleaned). No pitting. The miquelet style lock works fine. The bore is in fine condition with smooth walls covered by light patina. Minor wear to the gold koftgari on the barrel (mainly on the back of the barrel, please, see pictures). All the markings on the barrel and on the barrel tang are still clearly visible. Very high quality Bulgarian/Turkish Boyliya miquelet musket displaying fantastic decorative art! (Ref. "A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor", by George Cameron Stone , pp. 258-264, also in "Islamic Weapons. Maghrib to Moghul", by Anthony C. Tirri, pp.153-154).
