Chuckmuck

A chuckmuck is a belt-hung leather and metal tinder pouch. It is a distinct design of a flint-and-steel fire-lighting kit. It is also used as ethnic jewellery amongst Tibetans and Mongolians.

The chuckmuck is constructed from a stiff leather purse with a thick curved steel striker attached by rivets to its base. The sides and flap of the purse are either sewn or fixed by ornamental metal plates or small plaques. Inside are kept a piece of flint and a little tinder (pulped woody material such as plant roots). On the top fold a thin metal plate with 1 - 3 small hooks allows the pouch to be hung from the belt with a chuckmuck strap: a chain, leather thong or embroidered cloth.

Chuckmucks vary in size and decoration, with the circular boss in the centre of the flap, which operates as a hook to keep the purse closed, sometimes being decorated by a semi-precious stone such as coral or turquoise. Other decorations on the mounts are in silver, brass or iron with geometric patterns, floral designs, Tibetan motifs, or in the animal style. The steel striker is occasionally engraved: with two dragons or Chinese characters. The University of Washington database contains a collection of fire steels including early chuckmucks on plates 45-48 from several countries.

The chuckmuck is hung from the belt in both Mongolian and Tibetan traditional dress for men and women. For this reason it is sometimes described as a Chatelaine (chain) with strap ornaments, as in the British Museum exhibit. It is sometimes accompanied by a 'chuckmuck purse' as a jewellery set in exactly the same style only lacking the curved steel striker.

The container for a flint-and-steel kit can come in two main forms: the tinderbox and the tinder pouch. A fire lighting kit for 'striking a light' was essential until the gradual introduction of the match in the mid 19th century. The form of the chuckmuck is so different from other tinder pouches worldwide that categorising them together is misleading. The decorated stiff leather purse of the chuckmuck with its attached curved striker make it a design classic.

The chuckmuck design appears in many cultures from the 17th century or earlier, stretching from the Silk Road to the Himalaya and China to Japan

It is not known where or when the design originated, but it was manufactured locally in several countries in Central Asia. One known, still active, hub of metalwork was the area between Lanzhou, Xining and Labrang, the NE part of Amdo which incorporates the Amdo Tibetans, some Mongol regions, the Salar, the Hui and Han Chinese. In Tibet, apart from Lhasa and a very few other towns, only Derge was renowned for the quality of its metalwork.

...
Wikipedia