191 - Moroccan flintlock rifle, known as a “moukalah.” Round barrel with fluted sections. Miquelet-style lock, adorned with decorated brass plates. White metal fittings. Walnut stock. Typewritten label affixed to the side of the butt plate: “General Nieger’s Collection, Moukalah No. 17.” BE

Moroccan flintlock rifle, known as a “moukalah.” Round barrel with fluted sections. Miquelet-style lock, adorned with decorated brass plates. White metal fittings. Walnut stock. Typewritten label affixed to the side of the butt plate: “General Nieger’s Collection, Moukalah No. 17.” BE Note: Marie Joseph Émile Nieger (1874–1951) Enlisted as a volunteer in 1893 at age 19 as a private; became a noncommissioned officer in 1895; entered the Infantry Military Academy in 1900; served as a Saharan officer. As a lieutenant in the Touat Camel Cavalry Company, he participated in Pierre Flye Sainte-Marie’s scientific expedition in the fall of 1904, covering 2,300 km. In 1912, he served as head of the Trans-African study mission and crossed the Sahara from Oran to Tamanrasset and Agadez. In 1914, he was in France, then on the Eastern Front in 1915. In 1919, he was in the Levant, and in 1925, he attended courses at the Center for Advanced Military Studies before departing for Morocco, where he remained until 1931. Promoted to Major General in 1931, he became commander of the Paris military region in 1934.