The firearms at the Al-Kafeel Museum of valuables and manuscripts

Al-Kafeel Museum of valuables and manuscripts has thousands of valuables and various archaeological collectibles that have hundred years, and they are gifts from princes and sultans visiting the shrine of Aba Al-Fadl Al-Abbas (peace be upon him). Among these collectibles are various kinds of firearms, and the museum displays a large collection of old rifles and pistols some of which are dating to 1801. They are very beautiful thanks to their inscriptions and writing, some are inlaid with enamel, ivory, mother of pearl, and adorned with gold and silver.

To find out more details about these collectibles, Al-Kafeel Network met the administrator of the museum; Mr Sadeq Lazem, who explained: "Al-Kafeel Museum at the Al-Abbas's (p) holy shrine includes hundreds of firearms (rifles and guns) donated to the shrine of Aba Al-Fadl Al-Abbas (peace be upon him) over the years, we own modern and ancient pieces, most of which include symbols and motifs referring to their owners. As for the rifles types:

1- Rifle (Lifter): operating with wick burning coal, and it is made of wood, the gun barrel and the cudgel are made of iron and fixed on the hull of the gun with several cooper rings. It is written on the upper part of the rifle "Ya Qadi Al-Hajat".

2- Ancient rifle operating with mug's stone, the rifle's hull is made of wood inlaid with ivory and sheets of copper, while the gun's barrel and the cudgel are from iron.

3- Ancient rifle operating with capsule, the handle and the hull are made of wood inlaid with mother of pearl and ivory, as the gun's barrel is made of iron and fixed with copper rings.

4- Ancient rifle "Um Sarki", five-shot rifle operating with manual drag, the handle and hull are made of wood, the barrel and shooting part are of iron.

5- Set of small Indian-made rifles, some of their parts are gilded and made of wavy iron, operating with gunpowder, capsules and mug's stone.

6- Desert rifle: operating with gunpowder and the wick burning coal, and it is one of the oldest rifles in the world. It was used in Central and East Asia, and dates back to the beginning of the tenth century AH.

As for the pistols:

1- Pistol operating with mug's stone made of iron and wood and inlaid with ivory, inscriptions and motifs, and surrounded by ivory stripes.

2- Old pistol operating with capsules, the hull is made of wood inlaid with ivory pieces, and the end of the hand grip there's a piece of metal on which a ring is fixed. The barrel is of iron on which a logo in form of lion is embossed.

3- Webley pistol operating with gunpowder and capsule.

4- Webley revolver.

He added: "We are still receiving firearms that are donated up to this day to the Al-Kafeel museum, and we own rifles donated by the popular mobilization forces, and some are gold plated. Noting that among the donated rifles, a Brno rifle that was used in three important wars, the World War I and II as well as being used in the liberation battle of Amerli, and it was manufactured in 1915."

And regarding the maintenance of these weapons in the museum, Mr. Sadeq has explained: "The maintenance and cleaning process is conducted in the museum's special laboratory, using mechanical and manual methods with cotton, alcohol and brush. Noting that the maintenance varies according to the nature of the materials, whether organic or not. And then it is preserved using scientific ways in accordance with humidity and temperature and other characteristics."