India & Punjab – Indian matchlock rifle (torador) scarce Sikh matchlock made during the reign of Maharajah Ranjit Singh in the Lahore workshops, circa 1820 With gold koftgari chiselled to the end of the steel barrel the trigger in the form of a split-palmette, the floral markings and the butt with end mount reminiscent to the Sikh style of the period. Intricate ivory work on the butt with detail. For three further examples with matching styles of barrel, stock and applied rosette motifs to the stock, see the Sikh matchlocks sold at the Dalhousie Collection Sale at Sotheby’s, Colstoun, 21st-22nd May 1990. For a similar Sikh matchlock from the Tareq Rajab Museum and further discussion on Sikh guns of the Punjab, see Robert Elgood, Firearms from the Islamic World, Kuwait, 1995, pp. 152-153, no. 97.