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Lot 229
AN EXCEPTIONAL PAIR OF BOHEMIAN SILVER-MOUNTED FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS BY PAUL POSER IN PRAG, CIRCA 1725 with long barrels each signed in full on the sighting rib, lightly swamped towards the muzzle, decorated over its length with finely chiselled and engraved small designs of scrollwork involving an urn of acanthus leaves in relief behind the rib, the breeches each formed as a raised chiselled cartouche supported by a pair of opposing grotesque profile masks and framing two gold-lined maker`s stamps in the Madrid style (Neue Støckel 8080, 8081), gold-lined vent, silver fore-sight and the barrel tangs engraved respectively with opposing Harpies, flat locks decorated en suite with the barrels, with bevelled stepped edges, signed between the arms of the steel-springs, finely chiselled in low relief, the greater part of the chiselled decoration arranged within pounced matted recessed panels, each involving a trophy-of-war involving a Turkish captive, the figure of Victory at the rear, the cock with a cherub seated within a flourish of scrollwork issuant from a monster`s mouth and the pan with a demon mask cut in relief, figured walnut full stocks finely carved with delicate relief mouldings, including scrollwork patterns about the barrel tangs and ramrod-pipes, the latter each centring on a demon mask, inlaid over their respective lengths with scrolling designs of silver wire tendrils carrying engraved small flowerheads, the butts each inlaid with an expanded pattern suspending both a demon mask plaque and small warrior bust medallion (one warrior medallion missing), full silver mounts cast and chased in low relief, en suite with the barrels and locks, comprising spurred pommels decorated with elaborate rollwerk cartouches filled with pairs of warriors all`antica , probably Heroes from Bohemian history, the figures differing between the two pistols, one pair bearing shields charged, respectively, with the Lion of Bohemia and the Eagle of Moravia, the other pair including one figure displaying a severed Turkish trophy head, with bevelled stepped solid side-plates decorated with a landscape vignette involving the mounted figures of a Turk and a soldier of the Empire in combat before a town and an encampment, trigger-guards each centring on the figure of Diana, the finial involving a grotesque mask, faceted baluster ramrod-pipes, the rearward pipe decorated with a demon mask, oval escutcheons involving demon masks and elaborate pierced frameworks surmounted by a ducal crown, putti supporters and figural trophies-of-war, and fitted with moulded horn fore-end caps (ramrods missing) 54 cm; 21¼ in (2) Paul Ignazius Poser (1) (born 1646) is ranked among the leading gunmakers in Prague in the early 18th century and his works are represented in the most important ancestral gunrooms in Southern Germany and Central Europe. These include a pair of fowling-pieces and a breech-loading rifled carbine in the collections of the Princes von und zu Liechtenstein in Schloss Vaduz, the latter made for a member of the Royal House of Savoy (inv. nos. 3871, 3885, 4102). A pair of holster pistols by Paul Poser are in the former Imperial Collection in Vienna (WS.A1691), see Schedelmann 1972, pp. 226-7. Another pair, closely comparable with the present pistols, were made by Poser for Philipp, Prince von Lobkowicz, circa 1731: sold Christie`s, 9th December 1988, lot 215. Poser`s death date is recorded as 1730 in Der Neue Støckel but the pistols made for Prince Lobkowicz could not pre-date 1731. The distinguished treatment of the barrels, the locks and the mounts is possibly the work of the Franz Matzenkopf (circa 1705-1776), a celebrated chiseller of iron, silver and bronze who supplied Poser and other Prague gunmakers. Matzenkopf was producing coin dies for the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg by 1727; he left Prague to take up his appointment as coin and medal die-cutter to the Salzburg court in 1738. See Hayward 1963, pp.125-7
Lot 230
A RARE EARLY LONG FLINTLOCK OFFICER`S HOLSTER PISTOL, SEDAN, CIRCA 1640-45 with long barrel formed in two stages with moulded girdle between, the breech octagonal and decorated over its full surface with panels of scrolling flowers punched, engraved and gilt on an engraved matted ground, with matching decorated bands over the muzzle and at the median and the barrel tang decorated en suite also, with flat lock formed with strongly bevelled edges, the front chiselled as a monster`s head in low relief, the lower edge drawn down in the middle to a blunt point, stamped "Sedan" in small capitals above, fitted with straight cock pierced with a ring, chiselled en suite with the lock and retained by a screw passing internally through the tumbler, the steel engaging a small projection on the arm of the internally-fitted spring , passing through an aperture in the lock-plate below the axis of the steel, with ebonised wooden full stock with fluted fore-end and fishtail butt, the pommel fitted with faceted domed iron cap punched, engraved and gilt en suite with the barrel, slender iron trigger-guard, and iron ramrod-pipe (the fore-end replaced towards the muzzle, the fore-end cap and ramrod also replaced) 71.8 cm; 28¼ in The arrangement of the internal steel-spring projecting through the lock-plate is extremely unusual, possibly unique in this instance. Sedan, in the Ardennes, was until 1651 a Sovereign Principality independent of France and ruled by Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d`Auvergne, duc de Bouillon. On 6th July 1641 the Battle of La Marfée was fought near Sedan as a consequence of the active opposition of the duc de Bouillon to the interests of France and Cardinal Richelieu. The French incursion against Sedan formed an off-shoot of the French intervention in the Thirty Years` War, and as a further consequence of this the principality of Sedan sided with the forces of the Holy Roman Empire and jointly defeated the French at La Marfée
Lot 232
A FINE AND VERY RARE TWO-SHOT SUPERIMPOSED-LOAD WHEEL-LOCK PISTOL, NUREMBERG, CIRCA 1585 with two-stage barrel with swamped muzzle and the breech struck with both Nuremberg mark and that of the unidentified maker, a rampant beast, probably a unicorn, the lock with plain flat plate struck with Nuremberg mark and a scissors mark including the initials CS (Neue Støckel 2303), the plate extended forward of the dog-spring, fitted on the inside with a tubular priming-channel linking a vent in the front wall of the pan with a vent for the primary charge concealed just forward of the barrel girdle, with single-trigger mechanism, no provision for a mechanised cut-off, a pierced engraved iron plate fitted over the wheel, safety-catch, sliding pan-cover (release missing) and the dog engraved with a monster and a grotesque, with fruitwood full stock inlaid over its full length with a series of engraved staghorn plaques arranged within horn segmental lines and stringing, including a grotesque mask set between a pair of rollwerk plaques about the barrel tang, the contemporary figures of both a lady and a gentleman standing respectively within ball-flower panels over the butt and forward of the trigger-guard, a pair of monsters towards the muzzle, a deer-hunting scene over the reverse side, involving a mounted sportsman armed with a sword and a huntsman armed with a spear, and ball pommel decorated with a segmented pattern of alternating grotesque masks and capped by a horn roundel engraved with a cavalry officer, fitted with engraved horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, the former decorated with a grotesque mask, baluster trigger, moulded iron trigger-guard, and original iron-tipped ramrod (belt hook and one horn plaque each missing) 49.5 cm; 19 ½ in The vent for the second charge is positioned conventionally at the breech, within a recessed small panel with dovetailed edges. The recess was originally intended to receive a hand-inserted cover to form a cut-off over the vent. The cover (now missing) was intended to slide between the breech wall and the inner face of the pan, and would have been suspended from a cord or short chain corresponding with the existing small staple set into the stock on the opposite side. The length of the iron portion of the ramrod indicates the correct seating depth for the primary charge. Surviving examples of 16th century superimposed-load firearms built on a single lock carrying a single mechanism are particularly rare, which suggests a historical preference for the more frequently evidenced second mechanism. The barrelmaker`s mark compares closely with another, identifiable as a unicorn, also in conjunction with a Nuremberg mark and found on an over-and-under wheel-lock pistol in the former Imperial collection in Vienna (A577): see H. Schedelmann 1972, p.28, pl. 49, the marks shown in detail. The maker`s mark on the lock is attributed mistakenly in Neue Støckel both as unidentified and as the mark of Georg (Jörg) Schneider of Nuremberg, both references share the single number 2303. Another example of this mark is found on the lock of a wheel-lock gun also in the former Hapsburg collection in Vienna (WS.D.285); further examples are found on the locks of both guns and pistols in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (XII.720), the Royal Armoury, Madrid (RA.K76f) and in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (MM.04,165): op.cit. , p. 68 (mark illustrated).
Lot 234
A PAIR OF DUTCH FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS BY I. WILKIN, MASTRECK, CIRCA 1685-90 each with sighted barrel signed on the rib, the breech finely chiselled in low relief with a symmetrical design of scrollwork swagged with drapery and carrying a human mask at its centre, a band of leaf ornament chiselled over the base and all within an engraved decorative frame, border-engraved tang grooved for sighting, rounded lock inscribed "Mastrick", the borders elaborately engraved, chiselled with scrolling leaf ornament in low relief on the tail and the cock and the steel decorated en suite, figured walnut full stock carved with a series of raised mouldings including an acanthus spray about the barrel tang, full iron mounts chiselled in low relief, comprising spurred pommel engraved over each side with a flaming urn suspended within a design of swagged acanthus scrolls and fitted with chiselled demon mask cap, pierced scrolling side-plate, trigger-guard with faceted finial coming to a fluted point, moulded baluster ramrod-pipes, the rear pipe with acanthus spray finial (one chipped slightly), drop-shaped escutcheon suspended within a pierced chiselled frame of monsters and scrolls, and one retaining its original ramrod (the other associated) 54.6 cm; 21½ in J. Wilkin is believed to have been active in Maastricht circa 1685-98. For a comparable flintlock gun and a single flintlock holster pistol by this maker see, respectively, Puype 1996, Volume 1, Part 1, cat. no.66, pp.204-5 and Volume 1, Part 2, cat. no. 291
Lot 236
A PAIR OF SOUTH GERMAN LONG WHEEL-LOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS, CIRCA 1660 each with slender tapering barrel cut over its full length with a very narrow medial rib flanked over the breech by a pair of matching short ribs, plain lock retained by three side-nails and drawn-out to a rounded tail, the wheel fitted under the lower edge of the pan and additionally retained by a single small bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release and the dog-spring bridle decorated with a pair of scallop shells chiselled in low relief, each with fruitwood full stock, carved fluted fore-end bordered at its rear by a carved pattern of narrow flutes and ribs heightened at either end by a row of pewter nails, the respective stocks carved with differing stag-hunting scenes in low relief opposite the locks and with differing sporting figures en suite behind the barrel tangs, each inlaid with mother-of-pearl rosette washers under the side-nails, the butt inlaid with pewter ropework in imitation of a short-spurred pommel and inlaid with interlaced patterns of scrolling pewter tendrils carrying varieties of engraved mother-of-pearl flowerheads, the trigger-guard, ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap all of iron, and one pistol retaining its original ramrod (the stocks each with light worm damage throughout, one stock chipped slightly on one side of the fore-end, the other chipped extensively ahead of the lock, with shrinkage about the lock and with a repaired crack at the wrist. Several inlaid plaques missing from each stock, one ramrod missing, the other incomplete) 65.5 cm; 25 ½ in (2) The carved and inlaid treatment of the stocks closely resembles the work of the stockmakers of Schwäbish-Gmund. The figural subjects appear to be inspired directly from original engravings by Jost Amman, published in his Kunstbüchlin in 1599, and are consequently shown in late 16th century dress.
Lot 260
A FINE AND VERY RARE 39-BORE NUREMBERG WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE STOCKED BY THE "MASTER OF THE CASTLES", CIRCA 1600 with swamped octagonal sighted smooth-bored barrel struck with Nuremberg mark and the maker`s mark, a unicorn and initials, profusely etched over its length, the upper planes decorated with differing gilt panels of leaf ornament linking three elongated nodular-shaped gilt panels each filled with tiered sprays of flowers and foliage over the breech, the median and the muzzle, and all within contrasting guilloche and scrollwork borders etched in the white, flat lock struck with maker`s mark, LH over a pair of brushes (Neue Støckel 3773), decorated with etched panels of scrollwork within gilt scrollwork borders and all on a matted stippled ground, fitted with gilt-iron wheel-bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release, gilt-iron safety-catch and the dog engraved with a monster and a grotesque, fruitwood full stock veneered in ebony, very finely decorated over its full length with an inlaid series of engraved horn oval plaques all set within an elaborate framework of mother-of-pearl, the horn plaques formed as game animal vignettes over the sides of the fore-end, with female personifications of the Cardinal Virtues concentrated over the rear, involving Faith inlaid on the underside of the breech, Justice and Prudence jointly opposite the lock, Charity and Temperance jointly on the cheek-piece and Fortitude on the right-hand side of the butt, together with an espagnolette mask inlaid on upper surface of the butt and a pair of scrollwork panels enclosing medallions filled with an officer`s bust and Turk`s bust respectively either side of the barrel tang, the mother-of-pearl plaques pierced and engraved with both rollwerk and scrolling interlace patterns heightened over the rearward section with cornucopia, swags, grotesque masks, monsters` heads , fruit and flowers, the entire scheme arranged as a series of segments within engraved horn stringing and border strips, the latter decorated with differing patterns of foliage and scrolls and partly inhabited by small animals and birds, the entire inlaid scheme on a ground of incised gilt scrollwork interspersed with both natural and green-stained horn pellets and sown with engraved mother-of-pearl rosettes, the patch-box cover veneered in horn decorated with panels of spiralling foliage inhabited by exotic birds and framing the full-length figure of a Turkish archer, with horn butt-plate engraved with the figure of a caliverman in contemporary dress, moulded iron trigger-guard, and the ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each of engraved horn (the inlay with minor losses, the ramrod missing) 57.2 cm; 22½ in barrel The stockmaker known as "The Master of the Castles" remains unidentified by name but was almost certainly working in Nuremberg. He is so-called because of the castles which feature in some of his distinctive inlaid compositions; to judge from the quantity of surviving examples it is likely that this celebrated stockmaker presided over a substantial workshop. Examples of this stockmaker`s work are preserved in a wide range of institutional collections, some including the Bargello, Florence (inv. nos. R/64 and M. 235); the de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (inv. nos. 104 and 130-132); The Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. M 1082-1910); The Hermitage, St. Petersburg (inv. nos. 6611 and 6613); and the Princely Collections in Schloss Vaduz, Liechtenstein (inv. no. 3822). For a detailed commentary on the works of "The Master of the Castles" and for a comprehensive record of his works in public collections see Blair 1974, pp.319-322.
Lot 261
A FINE 15-BORE DUTCH FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY PIETER VAN SOOLINGEN, UTRECHT, CIRCA 1685 with sighted long barrel formed in four stages, the forward section with full-length sighting flat, the median finely chiselled with a scrolling leafy tendril pattern in low relief, the breech section octagonal, changing to faceted, the breech decorated with the figure of Mars standing within further tendril patterns involving small monsters` heads and demon masks all in low relief, and the barrel tang engraved with a further warrior figure, rounded lock signed beneath an engraved half-figure scroll, chiselled with scrolls, monsters and a demon mask en suite with the barrel, and the steel-spring with chiselled acanthus finial issuant from the severed neck of a horned demon, figured walnut full stock carved over its rear half with a series of complex monsters`head scrollwork patterns in low relief, the carved design on the underside of the butt also suspending a larger demon mask with inset eyes, full iron mounts chiselled en suite with the barrel and the lock, comprising butt-plate decorated with the figure of Diana, its upper tang formed as a serpent, side-plate decorated with a pierced design of delicate scrolling foliage involving small grotesque masks and the figure of Apollo in his chariot pulled by a griffon, the trigger-guard decorated on the bow with an owl as an attribute of the night, its finials decorated with pierced scrolls and a demon mask respectively, three baluster ramrod-pipes (the forward pipe missing), the rearward pipe formed with an elaborate finial involving a coronet and vacant oval within a frame of pierced scrollwork issuant from three grotesque supporters, the escutcheon pierced and chiselled with a grotesque male figure, a demon mask and a pair of grotesque female half-figures all enclosing a male bust within a scrollwork field, and retaining its original ramrod 123.8 cm; 48¾ in barrel This gun is hitherto unrecorded, the maker, Pieter van Soolingen (Solingen), is apparently recorded only anecdotally, his signature is on a pair of holster pistols formerly in the collection of the late H.L.Visser and apparently on two further late 17th century firearms: see de Vries and Martens 2007, Cat.866, pp. 428-9. Pieter van Solingen was probably related to Mathijs and/or Lucas van Solingen, or to the family of gunmakers of that name working in Amsterdam; see Hoff 1978
Lot 262
A 26-BORE WALLOON FLINTLOCK WENDER CARBINE BY GILLE DE SELIER, CIRCA 1705-10, RESTOCKED IN GERMANY IN 1799 with turn-over smooth-bored barrels released by backward pressure on the front of the trigger-guard, each signed on the long sighting flat, finely engraved and chiselled over the rear section with small leaf designs and a monster, with differing classical triumphant warrior figures chiselled in low relief upon vacant cartouches festooned with laurel, the breeches raised, flattened over the top and the sides, engraved with further leaf ornament and struck three times with the maker`s brass-lined stamp (Neue Støckel 8241), the plates fitted respectively over the faces of the breeches and the action each engraved with bands of acanthus leaves encircling their sides, the action tang engraved with leaf ornament and a Minerva bust , the plates carrying the pans each decorated with engraved beaded and acanthus borders, and the steels each chiselled with a flower in low relief, with signed bevelled lock with matching engraved borders and decorated in relief at the rear with a putto figure seated within a festooned scrollwork finial (the cock missing, one steel-spring broken), figured walnut butt profusely decorated with carved relief scrollwork patterns involving flowers and bouquets, the base of the cheek-piece signed by the German stockmaker "J.A. Körner 1799", the fore-end carved en suite and inset with three engraved iron scrollwork plaques opposite the ramrod-pipes and fitted with engraved iron cap, retaining the original iron butt-plate, side-plate, trigger-guard and ramrod-pipes, the butt-plate finely chiselled and engraved and involving a trophy of classical armour with captive figures, garlands and a mask all in low relief upon the upper tang, the side-plate pierced and chiselled with scrolls and involving a further trophy supported by putti, the trigger-guard decorated with a grotesque mask chiselled in low relief and with an engraved female bust, perhaps Flora, a pair of baluster ramrod-pipes, and iron-tipped wooden ramrod (one ramrod-pipe missing) 73 cm; 28¾ in barrels Gille de Sellier was a member of a dynastic family of gunmakers; he is recorded working in Liège circa 1680-1710, in 1693 de Selier supplied 30 carbines and 40 pairs of pistols to the Hanoverian army
Lot 263
A RARE 15-BORE DUTCH FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY I.(JAN) VAN WYCK A UTRECHT, CIRCA 1690 in the Parisian fashion, with sighted long tapering barrel signed on the flat, the latter full-length and struck with Utrecht mark at the breech, decorated with finely engraved scrolling foliage and a marine monster, and with a pair of warriors engraved on raised panels at the base, the barrel tang engraved en suite, signed rounded lock finely engraved with a deer-hunting scene within a scrollwork field, figured walnut full stock finely carved with a series of mouldings and scrollwork patterns about the barrel tang, at both ends of the trigger-guard and about the ramrod-pipe, the latter involving monsters` head terminals, with full iron mounts comprising butt-plate with engraved long tang formed as a serpent giving issue to scrollwork and an exotic bird, side-plate pierced and chiselled with a scrolling design involving three monsters, engraved moulded trigger-guard decorated on the bow with an engraved figure in combat with a monster, engraved trigger-plate, four strongly moulded baluster ramrod-pipes, and chiselled heart-shaped escutcheon suspended within a pierced scrollwork frame involving addorsed monsters joined at their mouths by a swag (the comb of the butt repaired, the butt-plate tang rising, the ramrod-pipe finial and the ramrod each missing) 124.5 cm; 49 in barrel The engraved and chiselled decoration and the elaborate carved treatment of stock are closely inspired by the engravings of Claude Simonin, published in Paris in 1684 under the title "Plusiers Pieces Et Ornements D`arquebuzerie ……. ". See Grancsay 1970, pp.73, 78, 79. Johan Jaspersz van Wijk , variously signed Jean de Wyck, Jan van Wyck or Wijck, was one of the foremost Utrecht gunmakers. He was born in the 1660`s and is believed to have died in 1729. Van Wijk is recorded in the Utrecht city archives as a gunmaker and stockmaker, gaining an associated membership of the Smiths` Guild in 1682. For an account of this maker and of his recorded works see Hoff 1978, pp.127-130. Also see de Vries & Martens 2006,p.324
Lot 264
A VERY RARE 11-BORE GERMAN SILVER-MOUNTED FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE IN THE MADRID FASHION, BY JOHANN WILHELM BONGARDE, DÜSSELDORF, BUILT ON AN EARLIER BARREL AND LOCK BY HERMANN (ARMAND) BONGARDE, CIRCA 1725-30 the barrel and the lock circa 1700, each finely decorated with minutely detailed chiselled classical ornament characteristic of this maker, the barrel formed with a short flat drawn forwards over the breech to a chiselled small design of monsters` head scrolls, progressing to a chiselled elaborate tiered trophy formed of a pair of putti supporting a swagged pedestal bearing the figure of Mars, the putti perched above monsters` heads and a mask each issuant from a tulip head, the latter framed by festooned monsters` head scrolls and the base formed of an arrangement of classical armour and weapons, with a small chiselled design of symmetrical scrollwork at the median, and with large gold-lined vent and silver fore-sight, the lock rounded, signed "Bongarde a Dusseldorp" (sic) and chiselled with trumpet-blowing putti seated within scrollwork below the pan and at the rear, the lip of the pan cut with a grotesque mask in miniscule, and the cock and the steel decorated with scrollwork en suite with the barrel (the upper part of the cock repaired), figured walnut half-stock decorated with finely carved mouldings and acanthus leaf ornament in low relief, Madrid-style fluted butt, the underside of the fore-end inset with a silver plaque pierced and engraved with an elaborate design of scrolling foliage heightened with silver pellets, decorated en suite behind the barrel tang and over the base of the comb, with silver butt-plate engraved with the quartered arms of the owner with supporters and crests, silver trigger-guard finely cast in relief with acanthus ornament, silver trigger-plate pierced and engraved with flowers and foliage, silver baluster ramrod-pipe, silver fore-end cap, and original ramrod with moulded silver cap 122 cm; 48 in barrel Further contemporaneous examples of sporting guns built by Johann Wilhelm Bongarde in the Madrid fashion, then popular in Germany, are preserved in the Bayerisches Nationalmuseum, Munich: see Hayward 1963 Volume II, p.102. Also see Schalkhauser 1988, cat. nos. 121-2, 124,127,129 and 133, pp.134-5, 137-140, 142-3. A further pair of Bongarde guns with carved stocks closely comparable with that of the present example, attributed perhaps incorrectly to the elder Hermann (Armand) Bongarde, were formerly in the collection of W.Keith Neal (Christies, 8 November 1995, lot 99). The present gun is the more unusual in being either a collaborative work involving father and son, or evidence at least of an early work by Johann Wilhelm built on stock-in-hand from his father`s workshop and presumably following his death in 1727. Hermann (Armand) Bongarde was the pre-eminent German gunmaker and iron chiseller of his age; he worked in the Classical Paris style closely linked to that of the court of Louis XIV, and his works frequently surpassed those of his contemporaries in Paris. Bongarde is first recorded in 1678, then in 1690 as armourer and court gunmaker to Johann Wilhelm of Neuburg, Elector Palatine and Duke of Jülich-Berg, which appointment he held until his death. Hermann Bongarde also made a magnificent garniture firearms for Karl-Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, now preserved in the Hofjagd-und Rüstkammer, Vienna (inv. nos. A 1636-38).
Lot 265
A FINE 23-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1660-70 built on an earlier swamped octagonal rifled barrel signed and dated "Friden Pucksen Hans Ruhr Coburgk (sic) 1650", struck with a mark towards the breech, decorated over the breech and about the sights with finely engraved bands of scrolls and flowers, the engraving about the back-sight also enclosing the barrelmaker`s monogram HR (Neue Støckel 953) and the back-sight formed with a single pierced shaped folding leaf, finely engraved flat lock decorated with a fanciful flower-filled landscape including a sportsman shooting a running stag, iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with a rollwerk design carrying a Goddess mask and a pair of winged putti masks, fitted with sliding pan-cover with rosette button release and the dog decorated with a marine monster and a pierced dragon, walnut full stock inlaid over its entire length with running patterns of iron wire scrollwork heightened with minute iron nails and carrying a series of iron plaques finely engraved en suite with the barrel and the lock, including large flowerheads, a pair of monsters`head scrolls about the barrel tang, a crowned harpy opposite the lock, putto masks within complex enclosures of scrollwork both on the cheek-piece on the right-hand side of the butt, the rear portion of the stock additionally carved and pricked with small scrollwork designs in low relief and heightened with small iron nails, with thumb-rest and patch-box cover en suite, the latter inlaid with an engraved dragon plaque en suite with the dog, and fitted with iron butt-plate, pierced engraved iron trigger-guard, fore-end cap, and iron-capped ramrod (ramrod-pipe missing) 82cm; 32 ¼ in barrel Hans Ruhr is recorded in 1641 as Court Gunmaker (presumably to the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) but without membership of the Gunmakers` Guild; Ruhr died in 1657. The predominant themes within the engraved and inlaid decoration (the Thuringian hunting subject aside) are closely inspired by the respective engravings of the Paris gunmaker François Marcou and those of the engraver C. Jacquinet , the latter after the original designs of the royal gunmakers Thuraine and Le Hollandois. The title page of Marcou`s series of 16 engravings is dated 1657, the Thuraine and Le Hollandois engravings were possibly first published about this time also, prior to the known edition dated 1660. See Lenk 1965, p. 85 and Grancsay 1970, pp. 9-10
Lot 266
A FINE 26-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE CIRCA, 1660-70 built on an earlier rifled swamped octagonal barrel signed and dated "Friden Pücksen Hans Ruhr Coburgk (sic) 1650", decorated with finely engraved bands of flowers and scrolls at the breech and about both the fore-sight and the back-sight, the engraving about the back-sight also enclosing the engraved maker`s monogram HR (Neue Støckel 953) and the back-sight formed with a single pierced shaped folding leaf, finely engraved flat lock decorated with a fanciful flower-filled landscape including a sportsman shooting a stag, fitted with iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with a rollwerk design issuant from a grotesque mask and carrying a pair of winged putti masks, sliding pan-cover with rosette button release, and the dog decorated with a marine monster and a pierced dragon, walnut full stock inlaid over its entire length with running patterns of brass wire scrollwork heightened with minute brass nails, carrying a series of brass plaques finely engraved en suite with the barrel and the lock, including large flowerheads, a pair of monsters`head scrolls about the barrel tang, a stag-shooting scene opposite the lock, the mounted figure of a general on the cheek-piece and a boar-hunting vignette on the opposite side, the rear portion of the stock additionally carved and pricked with small scrollwork designs in low relief and picked-out in small brass nails, the patch-box cover carved and inlaid en suite, and fitted with brass butt-plate, pierced engraved iron trigger-guard, and engraved brass ramrod-pipe (the fore-end repaired at the muzzle, the fore-end cap and ramrod missing) 81.9 cm; 32¼ in barrel Hans Ruhr is recorded in 1641 as Court Gunmaker (presumably to the court of Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg) but without membership of the Gunmakers` Guild; Ruhr died in 1657. The predominant themes within the engraved and inlaid decoration (the Thuringian hunting subjects aside) are closely inspired by the respective engravings of the Paris gunmaker François Marcou and the engraver C.Jacquinet, the latter after the original designs of the royal gunmakers Thuraine and Le Hollandois. The title page of Marcou`s series of 16 engravings is dated 1657, the Thuraine and Le Hollandois engravings were possibly first published about this time also, prior to the known edition dated 1660. See Lenk 1965, p.85 and Grancsay 1970, pp.9-10
Lot 267
A RARE VIENNESE FLINTLOCK GARNITURE OF FIREARMS BY IOHANN ADAM GRÄZL (1), COMPRISING A PAIR OF HOLSTER PISTOLS AND A PAIR OF 21-BORE FOWLING-PIECES, CIRCA 1730 the pistols each with lightly swamped blued barrel signed in gold on the sighting rib, decorated with an engraved gold female bust within a gold scrollwork pattern inlaid over the breech, gold-lined vent, silver fore-sight (one missing), and engraved gilt-brass back-sight straddling the breech and barrel tang, bevelled lock signed "Iohann Adam Gräzl" behind the cock and inscribed "In Wienn" between the steel-spring, cut with trophies of Victory involving a Turk`s head laid before a classical warrior on a contrasting incised matted ground, and the cock and the steel decorated with an interlace of strapwork and scrolls chiselled on a pounced matted ground, figured walnut full stock carved with raised mouldings in low relief, including elaborate scrollwork patterns about the barrel tang, the trigger-guard and the ramrod-pipe, full brass mounts fire-gilt and cast in low relief, comprising spurred pommel decorated with scrollwork patterns enclosing a pair of female busts en suite with the breech and fitted with shaped domed strapwork cap decorated en suite with the cock and the steel, side-plate pierced with an interlaced pattern of strapwork scrolls and involving a sportsman at rest with his dog, the trigger-guard and ramrod-pipes decorated with palm branches and scrolls on a matted ground, the escutcheon formed as a further bust medallion within a pierced frame of scrolls and palm foliage, fitted with horn fore-end cap, and each retaining its original horn-tipped ramrod. The fowling-pieces each with blued lightly swamped long barrel of "Spanish" form, with the maker`s copper-lined stamps set within a frame of gold scrollwork, silver "spider" fore-sight, engraved barrel tangs numbered 1 & 2 respectively, bevelled lock engraved with a boar-hunting scene involving a sportsman in contemporary dress, signed "Adam Gräzl" behind the cock and inscribed "In Wienn" between the steel-spring, and the cock and the steel decorated en suite with the pistols, figured walnut half-stock carved with a series of decorative mouldings also en suite with the pistols, with fire-gilt mounts decorated with a pattern identical to the pistols, one fitted with a pierced engraved barrel band (the other missing), engraved fire-gilt trigger-plate, and moulded horn fore-end cap (ramrods missing) the pistols: 54.6 cm; 21 ½ in, the guns: 116cm; 45 5/8 in barrels (4) Garnitures of firearms including a pair of pistols are rare outside of ancestral gunrooms and institutional collections. Gräzl`s stamps inset in the Spanish fashion on the breeches of the fowling-pieces appear to be unrecorded. The first involves his name arranged in two tiers beneath a crown, spelt GRA/TZL; the second is a leaping horse.
Lot 268
A 29-BORE VIENNESE FLINTLOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE BY IOHANN ADAM GRÄZL (1), CIRCA 1730 with blued swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with seven grooves, signed in gold, damascened in gold over the breech with the figure of a Goddess and her dogs (Minerva or Diana) and fitted with blued folding back-sight on a decorated gilt-brass bed, the lock signed "Io. Adam Gräzl" behind the cock and "In Wienn" between the arms of the steel-spring, decorated with the figure of a Goddess, probably Diana, a stag at the rear, and the cock and the steel decorated with an interlace of strapwork and scrolls chiselled on a pounced matted ground, figured walnut full stock carved with raised mouldings, including elaborate scrollwork patterns about the barrel tang, the trigger-guard and the ramrod-pipe, the butt carved with further rococo scrollwork about the base of the comb, behind the cheek-piece and over the patch-box cover (several cracks at the wrist, the cover chipped), full gilt-brass mounts cast in low relief, the butt-plate decorated with scrolls and a female bust, the side-plate cast with scrolls and foliage and involving a sportsman reclining with his dog, the trigger-guard decorated with a stylised grotesque mask incorporated within the strapwork design, faceted ramrod-pipes, scrollwork escutcheon, and fitted with sling-swivels and horn fore-end cap (ramrod missing) 76 cm; 29 7/8 in barrel This carbine has decorative characteristics in common with the preceding garniture by the same maker.
Lot 270
A RARE GERMAN SMALL WHEEL-LOCK RIFLE BUILT FOR A CHILD, MID-17TH CENTURY with octagonal sighted barrel lightly swamped towards the muzzle and rifled with eight grooves, plain flat lock fitted with external wheel retained by a chamfered bracket, sliding pan-cover and the dog engraved with a marine monster, wooden full stock, fluted fore-end, the butt with cheek-piece inset with a vacant mother-of-pearl shield and fitted with sliding patch-box cover, horn butt-plate and fore-end cap, and iron trigger-guard (fore-end chipped on one side towards the muzzle, the ramrod-pipe and ramrod missing, covered in old varnish throughout). 24.1 cm; 9½ in barrel: 40.6 cm; 16 in overall
Lot 271
A RARE 87-BORE GERMAN SMALL WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE MADE FOR A BOY, DATED 1649 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with eight grooves, engraved with decorative bands over the breech and the muzzle, struck with the date "1649" and with the barrelmaker`s initials "H*F", flat lock fitted with sliding pan-cover, wooden full stock decorated over its rear half with a series of carved expanded flowerheads and fluted mouldings with punched ornament along the edges, fluted fore-end, the butt with carved cheek-piece, sliding patch-box cover carved with a rosette, and fitted with horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard, horn fore-end cap and wooden ramrod (the fore-end chipped along its upper edge on one side towards the muzzle, the ramrod-pipe missing) 50.3 cm; 19¾ in barrel, 69.9 cm; 27½ in overall The small proportions of this rifle are in keeping with a child of ten years of age or less. Toys aside, very few fully functioning wheel-lock firearms were made for children; the overwhelming majority of small firearms intended specifically for the use of children are almost entirely limited to the flintlock period and later. See Clifford and Watts 2003, pp.32-3,37,40-41
Lot 274
A FINE 33-BORE DANISH FLINTLOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1690 with octagonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle, struck with a halberdier mark three times on the breech (Neue Støckel 5067), rifled with eight narrow grooves and fitted with chiselled back-sight formed with a single folding leaf, rounded lock decorated with wavy borders chiselled in relief, a horned demon mask cut in relief on the tail, and the cock and the steel with matching chiselled borders enclosing chiselled designs of scrollwork, figured walnut full stock carved over its length with elaborate relief mouldings and acanthus ornament, the fore-end with carved wavy borders en suite with the lock, with scrollwork patterns also in relief about the barrel tang and the ramrod-pipe, elaborately carved raised cheek-piece, and fitted with sliding patch-box cover carved en suite, full iron mounts chiselled in relief after the Parisian fashion, comprising butt-plate with the upper tang formed as a serpent giving issue to a leafy scrollwork pattern, pierced side-plate formed as a serpent entwined with scrolls, trigger-guard cut with a monster`s head spur and with pierced acanthus finials en suite with the stock, three ramrod-pipes of pronounced baluster shape, and the escutcheon decorated with a frame of pieced scrolls and marine monsters and surmounted by a demon mask, with trigger-plate fitted with sliding safety-catch chiselled in the form of a domed grotesque mask, moulded iron fore-end cap, and original iron-capped wooden ramrod 89 cm; 35 in barrel The robust interpretation of the Paris-inspired chiselled and carved decoration is characteristic of Danish gunmakers of the period. The halberdier marks are very similar to those stamped on the barrels of late 17th century firearms by the leading Copenhagen makers Matthias Kalthoff and Paul Nielsen Normann (Normand); see Smith 1938, cat. nos. 100/101, pp. 124-5 and cat. no.185, p. 71 respectively.
Lot 276
A 26-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE, DATED 1667 with brass polygonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle, cut with very small decorative bands and rifled with eight grooves, iron tang, flat lock fitted with lightly chiselled wheel-bracket and brass bridle over the dog-spring, fruitwood full stock, fluted fore-end, the rearward portion of the stock incised with leaf ornament and hatched matted designs of scrolling foliage, decorated with a stag over the cheek-piece, the date incised beneath, inlaid with a pair of engraved horn rosette washers impaled by the lock side-nails, incised decorated thumb-rest, and the borders cut with both linear and wavy bands en suite with the barrel, fitted with patch-box cover (the veneered upper section missing), horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard, engraved horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and wooden ramrod with engraved horn tip 56 cm; 22 in barrel
Lot 277
A 100-BORE SILESIAN WHEEL-LOCK BIRDING RIFLE (TSCHINKE), CIRCA 1630-50 with slender swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with six grooves, decorated with punched and engraved panels of scrolling foliage at both ends and at the median, tubular back-sight, iron lock decorated en suite with the barrel, fitted with matching iron bridles over the mainspring and the dog-spring, the former impaled by a button trigger, arched iron wheel-bracket, sliding pan-cover with button release, and the dog engraved with scrolling leafy tendrils and both grotesque and demonic profile masks, slender fruitwood full stock inlaid over its length with a series of engraved horn plaques, involving ballflowers, rosettes and elongated symmetrical designs all framed by pairs of horn pellets, the butt inlaid additionally with larger plaques including, on respective sides, a bird-of-prey and a goose caught by a fox, each within a distinctive linear framework of scrolls on a ground of pellets, the entire inlaid design arranged within horn segmental lines, fitted with patch-box cover decorated en suite, iron trigger-guard, engraved horn fore-end cap, and the barrel and the lock each with traces of original gilding (pieces of inlay missing, the butt-plate, the ramrod-pipe and the ramrod missing also) 99.6 cm; 39 ¼ in barrel A Tschinke with a closely related inlaid stock made within the period 1624-47 is preserved in the Veste Coburg (Inv. Nr. IV E 150): see Kruczek 2001, no. 125, p.115
Lot 278
A RARE 80-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE STOCKED IN THE MANNER OF DER MEISTER DER TIERKOPFRANKE , STOCKMAKER`S INITIALS MS, SIGNED MICHAEL STADT, DATED 1649 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel with octagonal bore cut with eight very narrow grooves, signed "Michael Stadt Anno 1649", plain flat lock retained by a pair of side-nails on engraved mother-of-pearl rosette washers, fruitwood full stock struck with the stockmaker`s initials MS in a small circular stamp behind the barrel tang, with carved fluted fore-end decorated with a leafy branch in low relief within a stippled panel behind the ramrod aperture, the rear portion of the stock similarly carved with flowering scrolling tendrils and other subjects all closely characteristic of this stockmaker and all in low relief on a stippled ground within an arrangement of linear panels, including a stag leaping through monsters`head scrollwork opposite the lock, the cheek-piece decorated with scrollwork emerging from a squid-like monster and from a harpy respectively at either end, framing a raised cartouche inlaid with engraved mother-of-pearl plaques in the form of the Roman Goddess Fortuna flanked by parrots perched within scrolling horn tendrils and pellets, the underside pierced with a water-drain overlaid with a pierced mother-of-pearl plaque encircled by a radiating design of horn pellets, decorated over the right-hand side of the butt with an elongated scrollwork design issuant from a monster`s head and involving large compound leaves and flowers, the patch-box cover decorated en suite, with horn butt-plate and fore-end cap, and iron trigger-guard (three pieces of inlay, the ramrod-pipe and the ramrod all missing) 79 cm; 31 in barrel Der Meister der Tierkopfranke (The Master of the Animal-Head Scroll, or Tendril) is so-called because of his unfailing characteristic use of animals` and monsters` heads to form the terminals to his distinctive scrollwork designs; he is to date unidentified by name: see Hayward, Volume I 1965, pp.194-6. Of the recorded gun and pistol stocks attributed to this maker, the present example, hitherto unrecorded, would appear to be the only example bearing a maker`s stamp involving initials which may possibly lead to the identification of this stockmaker; the gun in the Neuen Burg in Vienna (D 104) with its stock marked HN having been subsequently discounted by Schedelmann. The initials MS are almost certainly not those of Michael Stadt, the gunmaker to whom the stock would have been supplied for setting-up. Stadt, believed to be an Innsbruck maker, was probably hofbefreit (officially favoured at the Imperial Court); a rifle made by Matthias Stadt in 1674, to whom he was certainly related, bears the arms of the Emperor Leopold I (sold Christie`s, 15 December 1982, lot 103). Hans Schedelmann had suggested that this master stockmaker was established in Vienna from circa 1620-50 on the basis of the large proportion of his stocks preserved within the former Imperial Court Gunroom (Hofgewehrkammer). Schedelmann further supposes that many of his other works now scattered worldwide were originally commissioned directly for the Court or executed for firearms destined for it. He lists fifty-one works attributed to this master stockmaker, some mounted on firearms dated within the period 1624-53; a small number of further examples have been recorded subsequently: see Schedelmann 1973 pp.180-195. A pair of wheel-lock pistols also attributed to this stockmaker were included in the first sale of arms and armour from the collection of Karsten Klingbeil, Pierre Bergé & Hermann Historica, Brussels, December 13, 2011, lot 150, sold € 26,250.
Lot 279
A 31-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, THE STOCK WITH MAKER`S INITIALS MS AND FINELY INLAID WITH HUNTING SUBJECTS AFTER JAN VAN DER STRAAT, CIRCA 1590-1600 with octagonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle, rifled with six grooves and the breech cut with the conjoined letters HB, flat lock struck with a shield-shaped mark, a pair of crossed pistols with three clusters of ball (similar to Neue Støckel 5733), and fitted with wheel-bracket pierced with a chamfered heart-shaped ring and sliding pan-cover with button release, fruitwood full stock profusely decorated over its entire length with finely engraved horn plaques, formed as a series of hunting subjects involving figures in contemporary dress, both mounted and on foot, including a continuous woodland frieze inhabited by hares, boar, deer and foxes all pursued by hounds along the length of the fore-end on both sides, the scene on the right-hand side also involving a camel and that on the left expanded opposite the lock to include a horseman killing a boar, the butt decorated over the full length of the underside with a series of pierced rollwerk plaques involving grotesque masks and dogs` heads, the pierced figures of a huntsman and of a falconer, birds-of-prey, and a vignette involving a hare and a galloping stallion, the upper surfaces of the butt decorated with the hunting friezes continued in two panels, one involving a lion and a bear, inlaid with an elaborate bear-hunting scene over the cheek-piece, a pair of gamebird plaques inlaid about the barrel tang and enclosing a smaller plaque engraved with the stockmaker`s initials "M.S", with patch-box cover veneered in horn and engraved with deer and a hare pursued by hounds (the rear plate missing), and the entire inlaid scheme arranged within horn segmental lines, fitted with iron trigger-guard, a horn plaque over the ramrod aperture, and this, together with the horn ramrod-pipe and the fore-end cap, engraved with scrollwork patterns en suite with the plaques at the rear borders (the butt-plate undecorated, probably replaced, the ramrod missing). 87 cm; 34¼ in barrel The inlaid hunting subjects are closely inspired by the engravings of the Flemish artist Jan van der Straat, called Stradanus (1523-1605): the horses, hounds and the other animals conspicuously so. While none of the inlaid scenes are taken directly from the engravings it is nonetheless clear that the stockmaker has adapted some of the original scenes and many of the individual engraved subjects to suit his purposes, the bear-hunting scene on the cheek-piece for example draws on an engraved scene involving the killing of a stag. The van der Straat engravings also notably included exotic beasts, specifically the bears, camels and lions present on this stock. After 1567 van der Straat executed his series of hunting-themed designs for tapestries intended for the Villa Poggio a Caiano of Cosimo I de`Medici, Grand duke of Tuscany; engravings of these were published circa 1574-76. Two further series of his hunting engravings (44 and 61 prints respectively) were first published in 1578, with subsequent editions widely circulated.
Lot 280
A GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE, CIRCA 1650 built on an earlier 16-bore barrel by Augustinus Kotter, dated "1627", the barrel octagonal, swamped towards the muzzle, rifled with twelve shallow grooves, signed and dated, engraved with linear bands and fitted with fore-sight and back-sight, with rounded lock retained by three side-nails on iron rosette washers (one nail/screw missing), external wheel retained by a fluted sickle-shaped bracket fitted beneath the pan, sliding pan-cover (missing its internal cam also engaging the dog), fruitwood full stock carved in low relief, including a demon mask suspended within a frame of scrollwork and flowers picked-out with small iron nails about the barrel tang, paddle-shaped butt with further small designs of scrolls and flowers carved on the right-hand side, the patch-box cover carved en suite and picked-out in nails, and fluted fore-end with the ramrod aperture carved as a monster`s head, fitted with iron trigger-guard, ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and iron-capped wooden ramrod 65.5 cm; 25¾ in barrel
Lot 281
A RARE 17-BORE GERMAN SNAP-MATCHLOCK TARGET RIFLE, DATED 1685 with heavy swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with eight grooves, the breech struck with an axe mark (Neue Støckel 6126 for similar, possibly Suhl) and with maker`s mark, in a shield, ME, a saltire between, large flat lock fitted with pivoted pan-cover and the match-holder moving on an internal sliding long cam (the sear and one side-nail each missing), walnut full stock, fluted fore-end incised with a tongues-of-flame pattern at the rear, the rearward portion inlaid with engraved bone plaques, including a pair of rosettes impaled by the side-nails, a further pair of rosette plaques about the barrel tang, the butt inlaid with rosettes and pellets, with carved cheek-piece decorated with a plaque engraved with a fox, inlaid over the comb with a further plaque engraved with the date "1685", thumb-rest, sliding patch-box cover carved with a running fox, iron trigger-guard, engraved bone ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and horn-tipped wooden ramrod (the stock with worm damage at the fore-end and in several places over the butt, the toe of the butt shaved, the butt-plate missing) 115.5 cm; 45½ in barrel This is an unusually late example of a European snap-matchlock not intended for military use.
Lot 285
A PAIR OF 26-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUNS SIGNED WALTER, SECOND QUARTER OF THE 18TH CENTURY each with the barrel formed in three stages with moulded girdles between, the rear section interrupted by a prominent raised moulding grooved for sighting, rounded lock with fluted borders and signed on a scroll below the pan, figured walnut full stock finely carved with a series of raised mouldings, including acanthus leaf sprays about the barrel tang and behind the ramrod-pipe, and the comb carved with a scrolling border about its base, full iron mounts finely chiselled in low relief, comprising butt-plate decorated with an acanthus design over its tang, side-plate decorated with a scrolling design of scrolls and foliage pierced at the rear, trigger-guard cut with acanthus finials and involving a demon mask at its forward end, three baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes, horn fore-end cap, and each retaining its original horn-tipped wooden ramrod (fore-sights removed, the sear-springs weakened, one fore-end cracked). 101 cm; 39¾ in barrels (2)
Lot 286
A RARE 33-BORE GERMAN COMBINED MATCHLOCK AND SELF-SPANNING WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1660-70 with octagonal sighted barrel swamped at the muzzle and rifled with eight grooves, earlier large flat lock engraved with scrollwork and a flowering tendril at the rear, both the internal and the external component parts finely engraved, including the internal spindle-bridle decorated with a demon mask emerging from an acanthus pattern and the bridle over the spanning mechanism decorated with a flowering leafy branch, the external iron wheel-cover pierced and engraved with opposing pairs of human grotesques, with engraved sliding pan-cover with button release, the dog decorated with three monsters, a grotesque and a demon mask, the head of the match-holder formed as a monster`s head, the latter released by a moulded sliding bar engaging a pivot safety, and the external springs for the dog, the match-holder and the safety-catch all cut with matching fluted leaf-shaped finials, with walnut full stock, fluted fore-end, the rear portion decorated with incised hatched designs of scrollwork and foliage involving inlaid engraved horn rosettes, carved cheek-piece, patch-box cover decorated en suite (its base plate missing), horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard with fluted finial en suite with the lock components, engraved horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and wooden ramrod (the sear-spring unseated, the butt-plate button finial and the ramrod tip each missing, discoloured varnish throughout) 98.8 cm; 38 7/8 in barrel The lock dates from circa 1650-55, it compares closely with another in this collection which is dated 1653 and which is undoubtedly from by the same workshop. The lock is without question the original on which this rifle was built
Lot 287
AN UNUSUAL 24-BORE GERMAN RIFLE WITH EARLY FLINTLOCK MECHANISM OPERATING ON A TWO-PART LATERAL SEAR, CIRCA 1660-70 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel, the upper plane narrowed to form a near "Hog`s back", the breech grooved for sighting and with a wheel mark and the maker`s mark each struck twice upon inlaid brass panels, the latter involving the initials I.S over a crossed pair of pistols, and the bore cut with eight grooves, with flat lock with bevelled edges and recessed tail, fitted with pierced flat cock acting on a two-part lateral sear, dog safety held clear at full cock by a very small spring-stud protruding through the lock-plate, and swing-out safety-steel, walnut full stock decorated about the barrel tang with a fluted pattern tapering to the rear, carved with cusped ornament opposite the lock and inset with horn rosette washers for the side-nails, paddle-shaped butt stamped and incised with foliage about the patch-box, the latter with sliding walnut cover, iron trigger-guard, engraved horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, and brass-capped ramrod (back-sight missing, the butt wormed, the butt-plate removed, the ramrod incomplete) 97.8 cm; 38½ in barrel Cf. a lock of similar construction, signed Munier a Geneve, on a gun in Skokloster castle, Sweden (No. W 295): see Hoff 1969, pp.300-302, pls. 226-7. For commentary on early English flintlocks also operating on this unusual type of lateral or horizontal sear see Richardson and Rimer 2012, pp.220, lock type 5, illustrated p. 224. Also see Rimer 2014, p.57, pls. 5a-b.
Lot 288
A FINE 30-BORE WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, BOHEMIAN OR GERMAN, CIRCA 1680 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel decorated with an engraved band of leaves and monsters together with matted panels of scrolling foliage chiselled at the base of the breech, with further flowers and leaves engraved about the muzzle, a garland engraved over the muzzle face and the breech struck with a mark, engraved barrel tang, flat lock engraved with a bold scrolling pattern of flowers and leafy branches on a contrasting hatched ground, pierced engraved wheel-cover involving addorsed leaping stags, sliding pan-cover with engraved release button and the dog and its spring bridle each pierced and engraved with marine monsters, figured walnut full stock decorated over its rear half with a series of bold scrollwork mouldings carved in relief, the butt with carved thumb-rest and carved patch-box cover decorated with a demon mask within a scrollwork panel, fluted fore-end, iron mounts comprising plain butt-plate, ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap, engraved trigger-guard, and the trigger-guard and the trigger-plate each with engraved leaf finials (the back-sight and the ramrod each missing) 85 cm; 33½ in barrel. The central detail of the maker`s mark on the breech is indistinct but the mark as a whole closely resembles the cartouche-shaped marks used by some of the leading Prague gunmakers in the second half of the 17th century
Lot 289
A 50-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLE, CIRCA 1610-20 with octagonal sighted barrel with swamped muzzle of "Hog`s back" form, rifled with seven very narrow grooves and struck with a mark on the lower side of the breech (indistinct), flat lock fitted with siding pan-cover with release button faced with a brass lion mask cast in relief, and domed gilt-brass wheel-cover engraved with the owner`s quartered arms within a scrolling design of flowers (the internal wheel-sear and one side-nail each missing), wooden full stock inlaid with a finely engraved series of staghorn plaques, including rollwerk designs of leaves and fruit about the barrel tang, at the base of the cheek-piece and over the upper surface of the butt, the latter also involving a demon mask, with a pair of inlaid decorated plaques impaled by the lock side-nails, horn rosettes impaled by the barrel-pins and the butt sparsely inlaid with horn segmental lines, fitted with plain sliding patch-box cover, horn butt-plate, horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each engraved en suite with the inlay on the stock, and iron trigger-guard (ramrod missing). 77.5 cm; 29¾ in barrel
Lot 291
A 13-BORE NORTH GERMAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN SIGNED MEIER, ESSEN, CIRCA 1700-1710 with sighted blued barrel formed in two stages, the forward section decorated with a raised gilt-brass leaf moulding at its base and a gilt-brass girdle enclosing the muzzle, the breech section octagonal, with a raised brass plaque laid over the upper planes and engraved with scrolls and a classical warrior figure, the upper surfaces inlaid over their remaining lengths with further long brass plaques engraved with undulate designs of scrolling foliage and terminating in a brass girdle en suite with the muzzle, the barrel tang also encased in engraved brass, with signed bevelled lock engraved with monsters` head scrolls, figured walnut full stock carved with a series of decorative mouldings in low relief over its rear half, involving acanthus ornament about the barrel tang and about both the ramrod-pipe and the trigger-guard, full gilt-brass mounts comprising butt-plate engraved with acanthus and flower heads, side-plate cast in low relief with a pierced scrollwork pattern involving a putto riding a monster and struck with a mark, the conjoined initials WR (Neue Støckel 4807), trigger-guard cast in low relief, three faceted ramrod-pipes, and the escutcheon cast with a pierced design involving winged half-figures and a crown(the barrel re-blued, the forward trigger-guard finial missing, the rear section of the trigger-guard and the butt-plate each with a temporary repair, the side-plate chipped about one side-nail, the ramrod missing) 114 cm; 44 7/8 in barrel The mark struck on the side-plate is recorded by Støckel on a gun made by M.Demrath, circa 1730, also from the city of Essen. The mark is presumably that of a maker of gun mounts who supplied a number of Essen gunmakers.
Lot 292
A RARE 50-BORE GERMAN BREECH-LOADING FLINTLOCK SPORTING RIFLE WITH REPEATING MAGAZINE ACTION BUILT ON THE LORENZONI PRINCIPLE, BY JOHANN JACOB FREY, AUGSBURG, DATED 1710 with swamped octagonal sighted turn-off barrel stamped with both the maker`s signature and the date and rifled with seven grooves, the action frame with raised sighting groove and shaped to house a brass cylindrical breech-block, the latter with separate chambers for powder and ball, inscribed "Augspurg" in stamped letters on its outer face, rotating on the movement of a lever fitted on the left, the lever engraved with a circular garland of foliage about its base and held externally in the rearward half-cock position by a sickle-shaped spring, the right-hand axis of the breech-block also forming a rotary priming-pan fed by the priming-magazine fitted in front of the cock, the action cocked by the rearward rotation of the breech-block and the corresponding action of a stop fitted on the outer face of the breech-block, the stop acting against a sliding cam fitted to the inner side of the cock, and the trigger off-set to the right, with rounded back-action lock engraved with an Italianate scrollwork pattern involving a plaque signed by the maker and supported by a putto, the cock and the steel chiselled in low relief and the priming-magazine closed by a hinged cover, wooden butt and fore-end each carved with decorative mouldings in low relief, the butt with separate tubular magazines for powder and ball each closed by a threaded cap covered in turn by the hinged lower portion of the butt-plate, the fore-end carved with scrolling tendrils about the ramrod-pipe and fitted with an iron cap over the base, and with trigger-guard with chiselled acanthus finials and three moulded baluster ramrod-pipes (the steel-spring disengaged, the lower part or the spring perhaps broken, the butt cracked behind the upper action-tang, the plate supporting the butt-trap catch chipped on one side, ramrod missing) 85 cm; 33½ in barrel This complex but highly successful mechanism is popularly held to be the invention of the celebrated Florentine gunmaker Michele Lorenzoni but this probably unlikely. It is more likely that Lorenzoni merely perfected the system which he then used subsequently with three types of repeating magazine, apparently of his own invention. The present German example follows the Lorenzoni system "a tutto indietro", with the magazines at the rear. An example made by Giacomo Berselli of Bologna in the late 1660`s or early `70`s is in the Musée de l`Armée, Paris. Pistols and longarms built on this principle were also popular in England from the late 17thcentury, and in Germany, particularly from Augsburg workshops, up until circa 1740-50. For a highly detailed and illustrated account of the construction and working of the action see Hoopes 1973, pp. 216-25.
Lot 297
A FINE 42-BORE BOHEMIAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING RIFLE BY ANDREE SIGL (SIEGEL) A SCHLACKENW(ERTH), CIRCA 1725-30 with lightly swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with seven grooves, the breech signed "Andree Sigl a Schlackenw", struck with the maker`s brass-lined stamp (Neue Støckel 1025) and decorated with the engraved figure of Diana standing within an elaborate scrollwork frame over a raised moulding at the rear, engraved barrel tang, bevelled lock engraved with a design of strapwork scrolls involving a monster`s head, the cock and the steel en suite and each partly chiselled in low relief, figured walnut full stock carved with a series of decorated mouldings in low relief, including delicate acanthus volutes about the ramrod-pipe, the butt with raised carved cheek-piece, full brass mounts cast in low relief, the butt-plate cast with the monogrammed initials "LA" issuant from a demon`s mouth and additionally signed "A Sigl" on a scroll suspended from a half-figure emerging from an engraved scrollwork pattern, the side-plate cast with a pierced scrollwork pattern en suite with the lock and involving both a monster`s head and a demon mask, with three faceted ramrod-pipes, escutcheon cast with a pierced scrollwork design carrying an engraved classical bust, horn fore-end cap, and original wooden ramrod (the back-sight leaf and the ramrod tip each missing) 82 cm; 32¼ in barrel Andreas Michael Siegel is recorded working over the period 1680-1730. In 1680 he was apprenticed in Vienna, thereafter he worked in Schlackenwerth (now Ostrov). In 1689 Siegel was appointed gunmaker to the Margrave of Baden.
Lot 299
A 50-BORE SILESIAN WHEEL-LOCK MÜLLER-BÜCHSE, CIRCA 1680-90 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel rifled with eight grooves, decorated over its entire length with a profusion of punched and engraved ornament, including gilt bands of flowers and geometric panels over the breech, over the muzzle and enclosing the back-sight, with an arrangement of large winged putti heads over the rear section, a lion and a griffin each rampant, the figure of the Roman goddess Fortuna in a chevron frame between, all on a field of flowerheads and leafy tendrils and all damascened in silver on a contrasting blued ground, blued flat lock decorated en suite, struck with maker`s mark "xKx" inside, the pan fence punched and engraved with fruit and flowers and the dog engraved with monsters and an animal, walnut full stock, fluted fore-end decorated with incised and punched bands at the base, the rear portion inlaid with clustered patterns of horn scrolls and pellets enriched with shaped mother-of-pearl plaques, fitted with sliding patch-box cover veneered in horn and inlaid with a contrasting white horn pattern, iron butt-plate and trigger-guard, and horn ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each en suite with the patch-box cover (the rear ramrod-pipe and the ramrod each missing) 80 cm; 31½ in barrel
Lot 300
A 33-BORE WHEEL-LOCK SMOOTH-BORE CARBINE, DUTCH OR GERMAN, CIRCA 1660 with two-stage barrel struck with a small mark, rounded lock retained by three side-nails and struck with maker`s mark on the inside, WH over a spray of flowers, fitted with external wheel and sliding pan-cover (wheel-bracket missing), fruitwood full stock decorated about the barrel tang with scrollwork carved in low relief and picked-out in small brass nails (chipped neatly below the lock), a scrollwork design incised opposite the lock also involving a human mask, and paddle-shaped butt decorated over its full surface on both sides with incised designs of scrolling flowers within stamped stellate borders, and fitted with iron trigger-guard and ramrod-pipe (the muzzle-band, butt-plate and the ramrod all missing) 66.4 cm; 26 1/8 in barrel The maker`s mark on the lock-plate is apparently unrecorded
Lot 301
A 33-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE, DATED 1672 with swamped octagonal barrel rifled with eight grooves (associated, sights missing), flat lock, wheel-cover pierced with a trefoil, sliding pan-cover, the dog engraved with serpents and a bird, carved fruitwood full stock, fluted fore-end (chipped extensively on both sides at the muzzle), the rearward section carved in low relief, including a monster forming the mouth of the ramrod aperture, with small designs of scrolling foliage and leaf ornament, the butt with the incised date "1672" and with owner`s monogram and coronet stamped behind the barrel tang, carved thumb-rest, the patch-box cover carved with a hare, and fitted with iron trigger-guard (the trigger mechanism, ramrod-pipe, butt-plate, fore-end cap and the ramrod all missing) 62.2 cm; 24 ½ in barrel
Lot 302
A 33-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY PICART A ADELSHEIM, CIRCA 1700 the barrel formed with an octagonal breech section changing to a short polygonal section capped by a moulded girdle, the long median section also ending in a girdle and with a sighted lightly swamped octagonal muzzle, rounded lock signed in two parts undulating about the breast of the cock, figured walnut full stock carved over its rear half with a series of decorative raised mouldings (the fore-end replaced forward of the rear ramrod-pipe and fitted with horn cap, certainly within the working life of the gun), full iron mounts chiselled in low relief, including side-plate formed as a pierced monster`s head scroll, trigger-guard and escutcheon each with acanthus leaf finials, and retaining the original three baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes (ramrod associated). 113 cm; 44½ in barrel
Lot 303
AN 18-BORE WALLOON FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY GILLE DE SELIER, LIÈGE, CIRCA 1705-10 with swamped barrel formed in two stages with turned girdle, the breech struck three times with the maker`s brass-lined stamp (Neue Støckel 8241), brass-lined vent, engraved gilt-brass oval fore-sight and the tang engraved and punched with acanthus patterns, signed bevelled lock cut with acanthus ornament in low relief at the rear, carved moulded figured walnut half-stock decorated with leaf mouldings in low relief about the barrel tang and ramrod-pipe, full iron mounts chiselled in low relief, comprising butt-plate chiselled and engraved after the Parisian fashion, side-plate formed as a pierced design of C-shaped scrolls heightened with acanthus and developing from a pair of monsters` head scrolls addorsed at the centre, trigger-guard with its finials formed as acanthus sprays, a pair of faceted baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes, and chiselled escutcheon formed as a frame of acanthus scrollwork with coronet above (a screw missing from the rear of the butt-plate, another missing from the rear of the trigger-guard, the ramrod missing also) 107 cm; 42 1/8 in barrel
Lot 304
A VERY RARE 15-BORE NORTH GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE WITH ENCLOSED RAINPROOF MECHANISM, SIGNED LUDIVIC HENRIC, NASSAU, DATED 1633 with octagonal sighted barrel lightly swamped at the muzzle, hexagonal bore cut with six grooves, signed in Latinised form "Lvdivicvs Henricvs Comes Nassovicvs", dated "1633", struck twice with the mark MS, a clover leaf beneath (Neue Støckel 4048) and struck with a further mark, the arms of the Counts of Nassau (Neue Støckel 5509, a lion), flat lock-plate engraved over its full surface, involving a pair of male and female figures in contemporary dress embracing within a field of scrolling flowers and seated upon a slab, the latter cut with the enigmatic inscription "O:L: Was Thvs Tv Aô 1633", fitted with internal wheel , the spindle entering from the left and concealed on that side by a pivot cap disguised as a large screw-head, fitted with conventional pan closed by a domed moulded rectangular cover also forming the pyrites-holder and pivoting forwards on an internal spring, the cover fitted with a threaded adjustable lifting-peg also forming an internal clamp for the pyrites held inside, and the lifting-peg baluster-shaped and pierced for a thong, fruitwood full stock carved with a scallop shell moulding in low relief at the base of the fore-end, inlaid over its length with a series of engraved dark horn plaques, including hares pursued by hounds along both sides of the fore-end, rosettes for the barrel-pins and the side-nails, a stylised circular peacock plaque seating the spindle-cover, further game animals including a fox pursued by a hound over the butt, and the cheek-piece decorated with another pair of amorous figures as falconers on a shared mount, fitted with sliding patch-box cover veneered in engraved horn plaques, horn butt-plate with iron finial, iron trigger-guard, iron ramrod-pipe, engraved horn fore-end cap, and bone-tipped wooden ramrod (the back-sight and small pieces of inlay missing) 64.8 cm; 25½ in barrel Wheel-lock firearms built with an enclosed rainproof mechanism are very rare and the present carbine is possibly the earliest dated example. The maker is apparently unrecorded and no German or Dutch derivatives of his name are found in the published gunmaking references either. The system was developed in about 1630 and appears to have remained in vogue at least until about 1653, although merely as a luxurious novelty to judge by the prestigious but very few surviving examples. The leading exponent of the system, and perhaps its inventor, was the celebrated French clockmaker Pierre Bergier of Grenoble. In 1635/6 Bergier, in collaboration with Chabriens de Montélimar, produced two pairs of two-shot superimposed-load pistols on a variation of this system involving coiled internal mainsprings; one of these was made for Louis XIII and is preserved in the Musée de l`Armée, Paris (Inv. M 1659), the other pair was made for the Dauphin, later Louis XIV, and formerly in the collection of William Goodwin Renwick. There are two further extant pairs of pistols with wheel-locks built on this system, one by La Fonteyne a Mourgues, circa 1645 (in the Army Museum, Prague), the other by a member of the Bavarian Gsell family of Arzberg, made for Duke Julius Heinrich of Saxony and dated 1653 (Tøjhus Museum, Copenhagen). The lock mechanism of the present carbine is built on a conventional branched mainspring; the construction principles of this lock and of its spanning arrangement compare most closely with those of two French wheel-lock fowling-pieces, circa 1640, now in the Musée de l`Armée (Inv. M 405 & M 404); the first is number 103 in the 1729 inventory of the Royal Cabinet d`Armes. See Reverseau 2004, pp.100-107. A pair of wheel-lock carbines in the armoury of Carl Gustav Wrangel in Skokloster castle are struck with the barrelmaker`s identical mark, together also with the mark in the form of the arms of the Counts of Nassau. The pair, dated 1627, is attributed to an unspecified Dutch origin on the basis of inclusion of the arms of Nassau, with which the stocks are inlaid also, and of its Dutch historical provenance: see Meyerson & Langström 1984, p. 151, Cat. No. 66-7. For a survey of 17th century wheel-lock firearms with enclosed mechanisms see Hoff 1969, pp.116-120
Lot 306
A 37-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLED SHORT CARBINE FOR BOAR, THIRD QUARTER OF THE 17TH CENTURY with swamped octagonal sighted barrel engraved with decorative bands over the breech and muzzle and rifled with eight narrow grooves, flat lock fitted with pierced wheel-cover formed with a decorative rear finial, sliding pan-cover and the dog engraved with a monster, walnut full stock decorated over its rear half with punched patterns involving small rosettes and circles, incised small scrollwork designs and inlaid arrangements of horn plaques all within incised segmental lines, with water drain formed as a circular group of round holes on the underside of the breech, the butt incised with the initials "HCR", perhaps those of the stockmaker, fitted with sliding patch-box cover decorated en suite, and with fluted fore-end cut with wavy upper edges, with iron trigger-guard, horn fore-end cap, and original iron-capped wooden ramrod (two horn plaques, the butt-plate and the ramrod-pipe all missing, the fore-end cap damaged) 44.8 cm; 17 5/8in barrel
Lot 307
A 34-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN, CIRCA 1690 with sighted smooth-bore barrel formed in four stages, octagonal breech cut with a raised beaded moulding over its base, inlaid over its three upper planes with brass plaques engraved with scrolling foliage and flowers, bracketed at both ends by inlaid brass raised bands, the successive section decorated over its length with a pattern of narrow flutes segmented by very narrow raised ribs, inlaid with further engraved brass plaques framing a decorated winged back-sight, and with moulded girdle heightened with brass, engraved barrel tang (rubbed), engraved rounded lock decorated with a demon`s head scroll, wooden full stock carved with raised plain mouldings, fluted fore-end, the edges raised along the length of the ramrod channel and converging behind the ramrod-pipe to form a decorative narrow ridge extending to the trigger-guard, the butt strongly fluted about the base of the comb and fitted with a plain iron plate over the heel, moulded iron trigger-guard, three iron baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes, horn fore-end cap, and iron-capped wooden ramrod (the stock chipped about the lower edge of the lock, ramrod associated) 108.7 cm; 42¾ in barrel
Lot 309
AN 11-BORE GERMAN WHEEL-LOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE, DATED 1667 with swamped octagonal sighted barrel decorated with small engraved linear and punched wavy bands and with further decorative bands encircling the muzzle face, brass-lined vent, the bore cut with ten grooves, flat lock fitted with lightly chiselled wheel-bracket, sliding pan-cover and the top jaw of the dog cut with a rabbit`s head, pale fruitwood full stock, fluted fore-end, decorated over the rear with incised leaf ornament and designs of hatched matted scrolling foliage, the cheek-piece decorated with a leaping stag and with the date "1667"incised at its base, inlaid with a pair of engraved horn rosette washers impaled by the side-nails for the lock, the borders cut with wavy and linear bands en suite with the barrel and the dog-spring bridle, sliding patch-box cover en suite with the stock, horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard, and the ramrod-pipe and fore-end cap each of engraved horn ( the fore-sight, mainspring, trigger mechanism and the ramrod all missing) 76.9 cm; 30¼ in barrel
Lot 311
AN 11-BORE BAVARIAN PRINCELY FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY PIERRE FROMENT. A. ERLANGEN- NEUSTADT, CIRCA 1710 with sighted barrel tapering to a very lightly swamped muzzle, formed with flattened sides at the rear, a full-length sighting flat interrupted towards the breech by a scroll finely chiselled in low relief, the short rear section of the flat and the tang each finely engraved, the former decorated with the figure of a sportsman in contemporary dress after Claude Simonin and the latter decorated with flower, bevelled lock signed "Froment. a. Erlang", engraved with scrolling foliage and cut with vertical flutes at the rear, the cock engraved en suite and the head of the retaining screw chiselled as a grotesque mask (the steel missing), carved moulded figured walnut full stock originally inlaid with silver wire scrolls and small silver plaques about the barrel tang and ramrod-pipe (fore-end cracked towards the muzzle, the inlay missing), full iron mounts chiselled in low relief, comprising butt-plate decorated with a serpentine monster over the tang and with a scrollwork design involving a pair of serpents and a demon mask, the side-plate pierced with scrolling leafy tendrils issuant from a demon mask and involving small grotesques and monsters` heads, the trigger-guard also cut with a demon mask and with pierced scrollwork finials, four baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes, the rear finial cut with a mask and pierced scrollwork en suite with the trigger-guard, silver escutcheon engraved with the owner`s coat-of-arms surmounted by a crown of a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, and retaining its original iron-capped wooden ramrod 118.2 cm; 46½ in barrel The arms are those of Oettingen-Oettingen, created Princes of The Holy Roman Empire in 1674. The house of Oettingen-Oettingen became extinct at the death of Prince Albert Ernst II in 1731 (born 1683); thereupon the Princely line was inherited by the house of Oettingen-Wallerstein. Pierre Froment (1690-1752) and his father Charles (1657-1722), also a gunmaker, were Huguenot immigrants from Sedan in the Ardennes. They were part of a large Huguenot settlement in the Bavarian city of Erlangen-Neustadt following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685.
Lot 312
A 23-BORE LIÈGE FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY STREIGNARD, SIGNED STRIGNAR, CIRCA 1700-10 the barrel formed in two stages with swamped muzzle, turned girdle and the fore-sight set within an engraved decorative frame, the rear section octagonal and profusely decorated with symmetrical arrangements of scrollwork patterns both engraved and chiselled in low relief, enclosing the maker`s signature "Strignar", a religious allegorical figure and the maker`s brass-lined stamp, AS, a coronet above, struck three times on the breech, and the barrel tang engraved en suite and also involving a demon mask, with rounded lock decorated at the rear with a chiselled demon mask crowned with scrolls and engraved with a further religious figure, perhaps St. Agatha the Martyr, engraved borders, the cock and the steel chiselled en suite with the barrel (the comb of the cock missing, the jaw screw associated), figured walnut full stock carved with a series of decorative raised mouldings over its rear half, including acanthus leaf ornament about the barrel tang ,elongated acanthus sprays trailing about the ramrod-pipe and the trigger-guard and the butt with further leafy mouldings carved about the base of the comb and over its underside, full gilt-brass mounts cast in low relief, the heel of the butt-plate decorated with a scrollwork pattern en suite with the barrel and inhabited by allegorical figures, with side-plate formed as a pierced scrollwork pattern involving a grotesque mask and a vacant oval, trigger-guard cast with monsters` head scrollwork and acanthus finials, four strongly shaped faceted baluster ramrod-pipes, the rearmost pipe and the escutcheon each involving a demon mask, and original wooden ramrod 106.2 cm; 41¾ in barrel Neue Støckel records a P.Streignard working in Liège, circa 1720-40. The present gunmaker, A. Streignard, hitherto unrecorded, is almost certainly a member of the same family, his mark unrecorded also.
Lot 318
A 21-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING RIFLE, DATED 1680 with swamped octagonal barrel decorated with chiselled and engraved scrolling tendrils over the breech, an engraved framework of scrolls enclosing the fore-sight, the date "1680" stamped in small numerals interrupted by the barrelmaker`s mark, VB, a flower beneath (Neue Støckel 4628), the bore cut with eight grooves and fitted with back-sight with one folding leaf, rounded lock signed with the maker`s initials "IOF" engraved beneath the steel-spring and chiselled and engraved en suite with the breech, the cock also decorated with a matching tendril design and the lip of the pan cut with two demon masks, figured walnut full stock carved with scrolling tendril mouldings in low relief about the barrel tang and behind the ramrod-pipe, the latter involving monsters` head terminals, the butt with raised cheek-piece and patch-box with sliding cover carved with scrolls and leaves, full iron mounts chiselled in low relief, the butt-plate tang formed as a serpent, the side-plate decorated with a pierced design of monsters` head scrollwork, the trigger-guard formed with a pierced scrollwork finial and fitted with three moulded baluster-shaped ramrod-pipes, the fore-end bound with an iron band below the muzzle, with pierced chiselled escutcheon surmounted by a coronet, and wooden ramrod (the fore-end cracked in front of both the lock and the side-plate and with the upper edges chipped on both sides towards the rear, ramrod associated) 100.3 cm; 39½ in barrel
Lot 319
A 29-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE, SIGNED HARTMAN, CIRCA 1690 with octagonal sighted barrel rifled with eight grooves, lightly swamped muzzle inlaid with an engraved brass band, the breech cut with a band of bead and chain ornament and engraved with a tulip head, the median section decorated with a scroll device and a garland of laurel and flowers each inlaid in brass, and with the maker`s signature on a further brass inlay, rounded lock engraved with scrolling monsters` heads and a boar, figured walnut full stock carved in low relief with a series of decorative mouldings, including scrollwork about the barrel tang and at either end of the cheek-piece, an acanthus leaf moulding behind the ramrod-pipe, fluted fore-end, the butt decorated with shaped rootwood plaques inlaid amid small inlaid groups of white horn pellets and ball-flowers, fitted with patch-box cover also veneered in rootwood, and the number "8" inlaid in brass wire on the cheek-piece, with full iron mounts, including side-plate formed as a scrolling moulding with its rear section flattened and pierced and engraved with a monster, the trigger-guard pierced over the bow and the finials formed as pierced scrollwork mouldings, the trigger-plate en suite, iron ramrod-pipe (the rear one missing), pierced trigger, engraved horn fore-end cap, and wooden ramrod (two barrel-pins missing, the fore-end cap chipped) 67.5 cm; 26 5/8 in barrel A gunmaker named Hartman is recorded in 1677 working at Schwäbisch Hall; a further record of a Hartman, perhaps the same, states that he worked in Neuffen, circa 1690-1720
Lot 393
A SAXON MODEL 1881 ARTILLERY OFFICER`S SABRE, CIRCA 1881-1902 with pipe-backed blade etched in imitation of watered steel, etched and gilt with scrollwork, the maker`s name `Eisenhauer Stahl`, and the crowned cypher of Albert, King of Saxony on the respective faces of the forte, regulation iron hilt, in its black painted scabbard 83.5 cm; 32 7/8 in blade
Lot 448
A 16 BORE FRENCH FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN BY LE PAGE A PARIS, CIRCA 1780 reconverted from percussion, with three-stage sighted barrel signed over the breech and engraved with foliage, signed stepped lock engraved with a basket of fruit on the tail and an issuant monster beneath the pan, figured walnut full stock carved with scrolls and flowers about the rear ramrod-pipe and about the tang, the butt with an early green velvet cheek-piece, engraved iron mounts including solid side-plate, trigger-guard and butt-plate each with foliate terminals, three ramrod-pipes (the iron parts with some refreshed engraving), and horn fore-end cap, and associated horn-tipped ramrod 86 cm; 33 7/8 in barrel
Lot 187
A FINE GERMAN DELUXE-QUALITY CAVALRY OFFICER`S SABRE, CIRCA 1885-1900 with pipe-backed blade of highly burnished steel formed with a quill point, the lower half finely etched on a gilt panel on both sides, decorated with scrollwork and foliage, involving both historical and contemporary Germanic trophies- of-war and the English cutler`s signature "Sargant & Son Manufacturers to the hon.ble East India Company" on both sides, gilt-brass hilt cast in relief, including a pair of langets decorated with crossed sabres, the quillon terminal formed as a lion`s head, the pommel en suite, and celluloid grip bound with silver wire, in its original iron scabbard 90.3 cm; 35½ in blade The blade pre-dates the hilt by probably up to forty years and was presumably utilised from an existing family sword.
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