Log in to Webshots

Login
Get Adobe Flash player

Connect with Facebook to Continue

Hello, facebook user. logout

You are signed in to your Facebook account. Share this photo by posting it on your wall, or by choosing a friend below and posting it on their wall. (one friend at a time)

Album Info:

(DSC07645) Lantaka (Rentaka in Malay) is a type of bronze cannon mounted on merchant vessels travelling the waterways of Malay Archipelago. Its use was greatest in precolonial South East Asia especially in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia. The guns were used to defend against pirates demanding tribute for the local chief, or potentate. Although most Lantaka weighed under two hundred pounds, and many only a few pounds, the largest ones exceeded a thousand pounds with some weighing over a ton. Many of these beautiful guns were mounted on swivels and were known as swivel guns. The smaller ones could be mounted almost anywhere including in the rigging. Medium sized cannon were frequently used in reinforced sockets on the vessel's rails and were sometimes referred to as rail guns. The heaviest swivel guns were mounted on modified gun carriages to make them more portable. Typically the earliest cannon with beautiful ornamented from this region are from foundries in the Melacca and Pahang, with later model made from foundries in the Netherlands and Portugal, next from their respective settlements, and finally from Brunei and other local craftsmen. However, there were also double-barreled variants that were used extensively in the Philippines. Local foundries produced guns, using local patterns and designs from other local brass and bronze objects. Stylized crocodiles, dolphins, birds and dragons were common motifs. Lantakas were used by Moro soldiers in the Moro Rebellion against U.S. troops in the Philippines. It was also used by the Filipinos during the Philippine Revolution-this time copied from European models and cast from church bells. (Taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lantaka)

Sample Email

Below is what we'll send to your friends to invite them - edit or remove the optional note.

No comments so far...

To be able to leave a comment please Log in or Sign up.