Pen pistol on display at Armaments Gallery in Bhopal Museum

Bhopal, July 30 (UNI) An eye-catching 18th-century 'jireh bakhtar' (chainmail armour) that might have protected a warrior from deadly sword thrusts and a lethal pen-shaped pistol that could be easily kept in the pocket take pride of place among exhibits in the Arms and Armaments Gallery at the recently-established State Museum here.

Among the weapons is a fancy 20th-century six-barrel revolver from Indore and three 18th-century cannons whose once fire-spewing muzzles are made to resemble tigers' mouths.

''The museum has 16 galleries showcasing prehistoric articles, fossils, excavated objects, sculpture, epigraphs, manuscripts, paintings, a royal collection, textiles, documents, freedom struggle-related articles, stamps, autographs, miniature paintings, coins and weapons,'' Curator Prakashendra Mathur told UNI.

The Marathas used a combination of arms. Although they adopted new types they did not boycott the older ones. The weapons of Indore's Holkars and Gwalior's Scindias, kept in the gallery, serve as reminders of their history.

The pen pistol was a unique weapon of rulers and often part of their personal collections.

The display includes two cylindrical bombs, one container bomb and 'gurja' (metal ball and chain) from Indore.

Firearms exhibited include a 'jazail' (generally applied to the heavy Afghan rifle with a forked rest), two matchlock (where the powder was ignited by a match) guns, a flintlock (flint fixed in the hammer produces a spark that ignites the charge) gun, 16 percussion cap (a thin metal cap containing an explosive substance, such as fulminate of mercury, that explodes on being struck) guns and three percussion cap pistols.

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