There are 209761 lots that match your search criteria. Subscribe now to get instant access to the full price guide service.
Click here to subscribeRare Gustav Stickley desk, two doors at top with original hammered brass hardware above a drop-front writing surface and single drawer, chamfered board back and slab sides supported by thru-tenon construction, complete interior, good original finish, signed with red decal, 38"w x 15"d x 56"h, very good condition some minor seam separation, minor wear to top, structurally sound
Early Gustav Stickley card table, #447, rare form with a rectangular top above two end drawers with original wood pulls, lower stretcher supported by key and tenon construction, refinished, unsigned, some minor restoration, 30"w x 18"d x 29"h, very good condition refinished, some scratches to top, structurally sound
Rare Gustav Stickley washstand, circa 1901, early experimental form with seven spaced vertical slats at back, two drawers with original faceted iron pulls, chamfered boards at sides and heavy thru-tenon construction, medial shelf at base, unsigned, lightly cleaned original finish, 40"w x 20"d x 45"h, very good condition some cleaning to original finish, some staining to top, structurally sound
Rare Peer Smed bust, hand wrought silver, 1924, depicting a young girl wearing a lace bonnet, signed and dated on neck, with original wood stand of tapering stepped form, bust: 5.75"w x 5.75"d x 7.75"h stand: 3.5"w x 3.5"d x 4.5"h small tear to lower front neck from base support, dirty patina in most crevices, interior with original darkened patina
A RARE AND UNUSUAL BRASS CASED ANEROID BAROMETER BY JOHN BLACK - ACCRINGTON, this large barometer is mounted on a mahogany base board with a cast brass casing, the barometer has a white ceramic cone beneath a decorative dial, above a ceramic thermometer, dedication plaque reads - Presented to Brother Joseph Marshall for his services at the Loyal Pleasant Valley Lodge - Rishton in 1895, H 76 cm.
Fender Jazzmaster electric guitar, made in the USA, circa 1959, ser. no. 42052, very clean condition, electrics appear to be in working order, case, condition: good *This guitar comes with a certificate of authenticity supplied by Vintage & Rare Guitars stating `This particular example is in stunning original condition with its original brown Tolex case. The pots date to 1959 and the neck having no date stamp or pencil date is typical of this year. The wiring still has its original masking tape intact and all original chrome plates are included` dated 14th April 2008
Fender Telecaster electric guitar, made in USA, circa 1957, ser. no. -17551, see-through blonde finish, good condition with minor wear, electrics appear to be in working order (for originality see images for guidance), brown Tolex orange lined hard case, Vintage & Rare Guitar insurance valuation certificate, condition: good *This guitar comes with a Vintage & Rare certificate of authenticity stating that the guitar is in good original condition with original blonde finish, components and hardware appear original, although the case is of a brown Tolex type typically seen between 1960 and 1962
Fender Telecaster Type I Thinline electric guitar, made in the USA, circa 1968, ser. no. 230095, clean condition, electrics appear to be in working order, Fender Tolex hard case, condition: good *This guitar comes with a certificate of authenticity from Vintage & Rare Guitars stating `This particular Telecaster is one of the earliest we`ve ever seen. It is in excellent condition and is all original.` Comes with its original Fender Tolex hard case
Rare and interesting leather bound and brass mounted serpent, stamped Wood & Ivy, Hale George Wood, 50 New Compten Street, Soho, London *This serpent was formerly played and owned by Edward Croft-Murray Esq., curator at the British museum and member of a quartet who played ancient music on period instruments which included this serpent.
A rare and important Exhibition quality William Howson Taylor Ruskin Pottery ovoid shaped large Vase, flambe glaze in mottled grey with red marking, the circular spreading neck (with visible approx. 5.5cm vertical firing crack) above an ovoid shaped body, the varying glazes bleeding and trickling to create an overall mottled effect of colours, the underside with impressed mark Ruskin, England and dated 1926, approx. height 37.8cm, sold together with original Ruskin Pottery, a Victoria and Albert Museum travelling Exhibition Catalogue detailing "all the pieces used in this Exhibition are on loan from the Ferneyhough Collection of Ruskin Pottery, which comprises Howson Taylor's own collection, the present owner believes this Vase to be identified in the Catalogue as (F.L.11) (Case 1) (F.L.11)"
A Clarice Cliff Bonjour series three piece tea set in the rare Blue firs pattern, the teapot of circular form, C scroll handle, seated on two horizontal cylindrical feet, 5½in. (14cm.) high, the cream jug of arched form, 2½in. (6.4cm.) and an arched sugar basin, 2½in. (6.4cm.) high, finial repaired on teapot. (3)
A rare Clarice Cliff `Clouvre Tulip` pattern Inspiration Lotus jug c.1930, with blue-black printed Bizarre backstamp and ochre painted `Inspiration` lettering, the single handled jug with mottled blue glaze with handpainted red, yellow and acid green tulips with black stems and green and blue leaves, 11¾in. (30cm.) high.
A rare Clarice Cliff `Clovelly` pattern Isis vase c.1937, the ribbed moulded vase with honey glaze, decorated with a coastal scene with red roofed houses, trees in the foreground, seagulls above and an island beyond, red line to base, blue lined rim, green tinted inner rim, overglaze black printed `Clarice Cliff Wilkinson Ltd. England` backstamp and underglaze printed `Made in England`, impressed `15`, 7½in. (19cm.) high.
A fine and rare Chinese Jun glazed barbed or foliate rimmed dish Song or Yuan Dynasty, 12th-13th century, the robustly potted dish with shallow dished bowl rising from a shallow, slightly tapered foot, decorated all over except to the foot in a milky, pale sky-blue glaze with pale suffusions, thinning to pale mushroom to the edges of the barbed rim, the inside of the foot with a thin, grey-blue glaze, 7½in. (19cm.) diameter, 2 1/8in. (5.4cm.) high.
Antiquities - A rare and unusual silver mounted bronze drinking vessel possibly Luristan, with all over encrusted green patination which has flaked away in places to reveal the red-brown patinated bronze beneath, the vessel of waisted cylindrical form, flared more broadly above the domed base, the reeded strap handle with a saw toothed silver thumbpiece, a well detailed silver ram`s head mounted below the rim to the opposing side, 3½in. (9cm.) high, the rim 2¾in. (7cm.) diameter.
An extremely rare 17th century Grimoire dated 1627, titled `Les Secrets et Merveilles de Nature, Recueillis de divers Autheurs, & divisez en dix-Sept livres, Par Jean Jacques Uveckers de Basle, Medecin de Colmar, Traduits en François, selon la correction Latine, Reveus, & corrigez de nouveau, Ensemble une table tres-ample`, pub. `A Lion, Chez Claude Rigaud, & Claude Aubert, en rue Merciere, à l`enseigne de la Fortune, 1627`, 18mo, original full vellum binding with kid leather ties, 1192pp, handwritten ink title to spine. * This is an extremely rare volume, translated from the Latin of Jacques Wecker, first published in Basel in 1559. Wecker`s work is in part derived from the famous Book of Secrets attributed to Alessio Piemontese (probably pseud. of Girolamo Ruscelli) first published with the title `De secreti del reverendo` in Venice by Sigismondo Bordogna, 1555. It published a wide range of empirically discovered recipes, including formulae for medicinal compounds, cosmetics, pigments, dyes, metallurgy and jewellery, including alchemy.
Nevill Johnson (1911-1999) The Bird Oil on board, 45.5 x 61cm (18 x 24") Signed Provenance: Sold in these rooms, Important Irish Art Sale March 2007 Lot 131, where purchased by the current owner Exhibited: "The Artists of Ireland" Exhibition, Pasadena Art Institute, Pasadena, USA, where purchased by Mrs. Marten. This exhibition was organised by the Cultural Relations Committee of Ireland Literature : “Nevill Johnson - Paint the Smell of Grass” by Dickon Hall 2008 Full page Illustration P42 While Nevill Johnson's work of the late 1940s and 1950s, while he was living in Dublin, usually deals with serious subjects and often has a dark tone, Bird belongs to one of the most elegantly witty and detached groups of paintings he made at this time. Painted from a bird Johnson constructed from paper and addressing themes of illusion and reality, as in Cocotte Johnson places his creation in a landscape where it becomes the dramatic focus. Bird was exhibited in Pasadena as part of the touring exhibitions Victor Waddington organised across the USA; Johnson's work of this period is rare as many of his paintings were sold in these exhibitions or through Tooth's in London and they have remained outside Ireland.
A RARE 28 BORE CHINESE MATCHLOCK GUN, 18TH/19TH CENTURY AND A .620 CALIBRE AFGHAN FLINTLOCK RIFLE, 19TH CENTURY the first with swamped sighted barrel retained by two brass bands, the breech with standing back-sight and integral pan with pivot-cover, the action enclosed within the stock, retained by a brass plaque, curved iron serpentine and trigger, hardwood full stock (small cracks) including a flat forward lug for resting and a rounded rear lug, each pierced and set with an engraved brass foliate washer, a single sling swivel, and the butt retaining its pouch for match cord; the second with tapering octagonal Turkish barrel, East India company lock, and figured hardwood full stock (losses) the first: 75.5 cm; 29 3/4 in barrel (2) A similar example to the first was sold in these rooms, 29th June 2011 lot 75.
A RARE 20 BORE OTTOMAN DECORATED MATCHLOCK MUSKET, TURKEY, LATE 17TH/18TH CENTURY with octagonal twist sighted barrel retained by a pair of pierced and engraved silver bands (rubbed), the breech and muzzle each formed with a raised shaped moulding encrusted with gold scrolls within linear frames, the breech stamped with the gold-lined barrelsmith`s mark, incorporating a tall back-sight decorated with a band of gold beadwork between two lines and fitted with brass pan with pivot-cover, the action with brass serpentine and trigger each enclosed by an engraved parcel gilt silver plate, full stock entirely veneered in small rectangular panels of horn and bone within a framework of brass fillets, inlaid with numerous brass framed rondels filled with contrasting colours of horn, the panels adjoining the barrel stained green, faceted butt partly veneered en suite, applied with engraved shaped parcel gilt silver plaques set with corals, further parcel gilt silver panels embossed with beadwork and set with corals, all enriched with brass nails, faceted ivory butt cap inset with matching rondels, pricker with chain, suspension ring with chain opposite the lock (forward sling swivel missing, the inlay with losses, small chips and wear), fore-end cap matching the barrel bands and brass tipped ramrod, perhaps the original 123cm; 48 1/2in barrel Provenance The descendant family of Sir Thomas Joseph Strangman QC (1873- 1971) Sir Thomas Joseph Strangman, son of Joseph Strangman of Southport Lancashire was educated at Charterhouse and Trinity College Cambridge. He was admitted at the Middle Temple 14th April 1893, called to the Bar in 1896 and to the Bar in India the same year. He was Advocate General in Bombay 1908-15 and 1916-22 and was knighted 1920. See J. Venn 1922-58. The decoration on the present gun is related to a distinctive group of ivory-stocked miquelet-lock muskets that have been attributed to the guard of Sultan Abdul Hamid I (1725-1789, ruled 1773-89). Six of the group are preserved in the Topkapi Sarayi Museum, another is in the Gatchina Arsenal, St Petersburg (GDM 803) and another was sold Christie`s South Kensington 17th December 2008, lot 37. For a discussion of the group see H. Ricketts and P. Missillier 1988, p. 162, no. 43.
** A RARE NORTH INDIAN FLINTLOCK BLUNDERBUSS, EARLY 19TH CENTURY with swamped barrel belled towards the muzzle, formed with raised mouldings behind the muzzle and ahead of the breech, the latter incorporating a standing back-sight, engraved shaped tang, engraved lock in the European taste, fitted with engraved cock (the upper portion missing), semi-rainproof pan and roller, full stock (fore-end with small cracks and chips), carved with foliage about the tang, hooked butt formed with a characteristic bifurcated fishtail terminal, iron mounts including scrolling trigger-guard with pineapple finial, and a pair of ramrod-pipes, and brass two piece side plate and barrel bolt escutcheons (one escutcheon and the ramrod missing) 77 cm; 33 3/8 in barrel A flintlock gun of related form is illustrated R. Hales 2013, p. 279, no. 680.
** A RARE FRENCH SILVER-HILTED SMALL-SWORD, CIRCA 1790 with two-stage blade etched over the lower portion (pitting), silver hilt pierced, cast and chased in low relief with scrollwork frames filled with pierced trellis designs involving rococo motifs, including very small down-turned shell-guard, broad outer ring-guard bordered by scrolls and with a central cockerel, a pair of quillons, knuckle-guard, globular pommel, and silver grip decorated en suite (rubbed, small chips and repairs) 83.8 cm; 33 in blade Literature: D. D. Hartzler 2000, fig. 87
** A RARE FOREARM DEFENCE, 17TH CENTURY, EAST EUROPEAN OR OTTOMAN TURKISH formed of a gutter-shaped main plate and two smaller plates, the main plate engraved and punched over much of its surface with a broad cartouche-shaped framework filled with flowerheads, a pattern of scrolling foliage around the border, fitted around the base and up part of one side with a brass plaque embossed with petal-shaped motifs against a punched ground, two hasps for straps (incomplete), the two smaller plates engraved with matching flowerheads and cartouche patterns, overlaid with a brass plaque top and bottom, the outer with two buckles for closure, all joined by mail strips of flattened rivetted links (minor losses), the brass overlays retaining traces of gilding, and with a brass inventory tag numbered `43` the main plate 31.5 cm; 12 3/8in A number of forearm defences of this form are preserved in the Muzeum Naradowe w Krakowie, Poland. See J. Gutowski 1997, nos 41-49.
** A RARE BAVARIAN SABRE HALBERD, SECOND QUARTER OF THE 17TH CENTURY with curved axe-blade, very long slightly curved central blade formed with a hatchet point and a long fuller on each face, tapering socket with bevelled edges, on an associated wooden haft with four long straps 107.4 cm; 42 1/4 in head A large number of halberds of this form, formerly in the Bavarian arsenal, are now preserved in the Bavarian Army Museum, Ingoldstadt. Another example was sold in these rooms 10th December 2008, lot 185. See H. Seitz 1968, p. 216, ill. 221.
** A RARE ENGLISH COLLAR MADE IN THE ROYAL WORKSHOPS AT GREENWICH, CIRCA 1610 formed of four sturdy lames front and rear, in each case articulated to one another by three internal leathers (replaced), the upper edge of the first formed with a roped inward turn, the lower edge of the fourth with a series of large scallops bordered by a pair of widely-spaced incised lines, and the upper edges of the second to fourth each bevelled and bordered by a pair of more closely-spaced incised line, the front and rear sections of the collar connected to one another by an internal hinge at the left side and closed by a plain stud and hole and a mushroom-shaped stud and keyhole slot at the right (the whole showing a mottled overall patina and a number of plugged holes) 16.8 cm; 6½ in Provenance Robin Wigington, Poets Arbour, Stratford upon Avon, 9th October 1992 The gorget almost certainly derives from a series of garnitures for tilt and barriers use made at Greenwich about 1610. Several examples of the series are still to be seen in the Royal Armouries, Inv. Nos. II. 73, 78-9, 80 & 86 (ffoulkes 1916, vol. I, pp. 121-3 & 130; Exhibition of Armour made in the Royal Workshops at Greenwich, Tower of London, 1951, pp. p. 32; and Dufty & Reid 1968, pl. LII)
** A RARE .600 CALIBRE QUEEN ANNE FLINTLOCK REGULATION PISTOL, THE LOCK BY I. PEDDELL, CIRCA 1702-14 with two-stage barrel stamped with Ordnance and Tower proof marks, signed lock retained by three side nails, numbered `7` on the tail, with `AR` crowned and crowned broad arrow mark, the inside stamped `ED` and with a fleur-de-lys mark, full stock carved with an apron moulding about the tang (small repairs), brass mounts comprising solid side-plate, trigger-guard with rounded finial, butt-cap with `AR` `P`, `14` and broad arrow accompanied by engraved linear borders, ramrod-pipe and brass-tipped ramrod 35.5 cm; 14 in barrel James Peddell is recorded 1688-1716 as a maker of complete arms including a government gift to New York in 1702 and 1710. See lot 224.
** A RARE .650 CALIBRE 1730 PATTERN LAND SERVICE PISTOL WITH 1729 PATTERN LOCK, DATED 1729 with tapering barrel stamped with Ordnance and Tower proof marks, regulation dated lock with `GR` crowned, broad arrow and `Tower` (the cock repaired), stamped `WI` and `30` crowned on the inside, regulation full stock carved with a moulding about the tang (small cracks and chips), regulation brass mounts, and brass-tipped ramrod 30.5 cm; 12 in barrel See De Witt Bailey 1997, pp. 18-19.
** AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE .650 CALIBRE JAMES II FLINTLOCK COMBINED GRENADE LAUNCHER AND MUSKET BY JAMES PEDDELL, LONDON, CIRCA 1687 with sighted barrel formed in four stages and with a moulded muzzle ring, retained by a slender steel band muzzle band, octagonal then polygonal breech stamped with Ordnance marks, long rectangular tang, slightly curved signed lock engraved with border ornament and `I2R` crowned, fitted with rounded pan incorporating a rear gate and a slender trap-cover on the tail for grenade ignition, engraved cock, walnut full stock, the butt formed of a bottle-shaped steel extension forming the grenade launching base, stamped with `IR` crowned on the neck, separated from the tang by a brass washer, the rear of walnut stamped `234` and with a further mark on the right (one small crack), fitted with a hinge and retained by a sprung button catch on the top (cracked on one side), the fore-end with a stirrup mount and a full length iron bar for mounting, iron trigger-guard, brass mounts comprising scrolling side-pate, butt-cap with tang of shaped outline, three moulded ramrod-pipes and slender fore-end cap (ramrod missing) 98 cm; 38 5/8 in barrel Provenance Clay P. Bedford Exhibited Early Firearms of Great Britain and Ireland, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1971 Literature Herbert A. Sherlock, Early Grenade Launchers of Great Britain, in, Military Collector and Historian, June 1951, pp. 44-6. Early Firearms of Great Britain and Ireland, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1971, cat. No. 105. The present combined grenade thrower and flintlock musket is one of three known examples, the other two being preserved in the Royal Armouries, Leeds (Inv. Nos. XII 260 and 261), by James Peddell and Hartwell respectively. John Tinker invented this combined musket and grenade thrower in 1681 and was awarded a pension of five pounds per quarter for it. The Ordnance Records include a minute referring to three gunmakers, Collins Groome, John Hartwell and James Peddell, for stocking and locking brass hand mortar pieces made by the Ordnance brass founder William Wightman at Moorfields. James (1) Peddell apprenticed to John Silke, became free of the Gunmaker`s Company, 1682; was elected assistant, 1699; and became Master 1703-4. He was Gunmaker to Ordnance, 1685-1717; The East India Company, 1716; The Hudson Bay Company 1687-1722 and the Royal African Company from 1721 until his death in 1723. See H. L. Blackmore 1961, pp. 35-36, for a detached grenade launcher see F. Grose 1801, vol. II, p. 363.
** A RARE .750 CALIBRE WILLIAM III DOG-LOCK MUSKET, CIRCA 1695-1700 with sighted barrel formed in two stages, octagonal breech stamped with proof marks and the barrelsmith`s mark, perhaps `IS` (rubbed), flat lock retained by three side nails, engraved with `WR` crowned, fitted with flat bellied cock with dog safety-catch, full elmwood stock carved with a raised moulding about the tang, brass mounts comprising butt-cap and two moulded ramrod-pipes (later ramrod, trigger-guard missing) 118 cm; 46 1/2 in barrel
** A RARE PAIR OF 80 BORE SILVER-MOUNTED FOUR BARRELLED FLINTLOCK TAP-ACTION TRAVELLING PISTOLS BY DURS EGG, LONDON PROOF MARKS, BIRMINGHAM SILVER MARKS 1782, MAKER`S MARK I. B. with turn-off brass barrels stamped with County Down Census marks `D-N5397` and `D-N5398`, numbered 1-4 and 5-8 respectively, border-engraved faceted breeches numbered en suite and stamped with London proof marks top and bottom, engraved tangs decorated with rococo scrolls and foliage, signed box-lock actions engraved with trophies-of-arms on each side, fitted with blued tap-levers on the left (the top-jaws and screws replaced), highly figured bulbous walnut butts profusely inlaid with silver scrolls, flower heads and pellets (small losses, some lifting), fitted with silver pommels finely cast and chased in low relief with a lion devouring bones within a turret, all enclosed in a rococo framework, silver escutcheon engraved with the owner`s crest beneath an Earl`s coronet and engraved blued sliding trigger-guard safety-catch engraved with a rococo bouquet on the bow 11.7cm; 4 5/8in barrels (2) Provenance Arthur, 5th Earl of Donegal (1739-99), created Marquis 1791, described by Horace Walpole as a `very weak man` Mrs Jack, Ireland, Sotheby & Co. 22nd December 1960, lot 162 Christie`s, King Street, 22nd July 1992, lot 205 These pistols were said to have been used by Lord Hill, better known as General Hill of the Peninsular Campaigns, who, on his death in 1842 left them to his valet Calderwood.
** A RARE 25 BORE EAST SCOTTISH FLINTLOCK BELT PISTOL FORMED ENTIRELY OF STEEL, SIGNED R. S., DATED 1723 with multi-stage barrel, faceted flaring muzzle, the median overlaid with engraved silver panels, small silver flowerheads and diamond-shaped panels, the breech incorporating the back-sight, inlaid with a pair of silver flowerhead rondels and the date `1723` on a silver strip, rounded lock signed `R. S.` beneath the pan, moulded steel full stock engraved with pairs of lines (rubbed), inlaid with an engraved panel of silver beneath the fore-end, heart-shaped pommel engraved en suite and enclosed by a band of engraved silver at the top, fitted with spirally engraved pricker, the trigger decorated en suite, slender steel belt hook with bracket of shaped outline, moulded ramrod-pipe, and steel ramrod 15.5 cm; 16 1/8 in barrel For a discussion of this distinctive form of pistol see W. Reid 1963, pp. 26-30.
A RARE ENGLISH FINGERED GAUNTLET FOR THE LEFT HAND, ALMOST CERTAINLY GREENWICH, CIRCA 1620-30 formed of a flared and obtusely pointed cuff with a short fixed inner plate, fitted distally with an inner wrist-plate that extends over the base of the thumb, five metacarpal-plates, the fourth of which is shaped to the outside of the thumb, a knuckle-plate shaped to the individual knuckles, and scaled finger and thumb-defences (the latter detached), the main edges of the cuff formed with plain inward turns, accompanied in the case of the upper one by a recessed border, the subsidiary edges decorated with double and single incised lines, and the whole with a blackened finish (somewhat pitted) enlivened by brass-capped lining and articulating-rivets 36.0 cm; 14¼ in The gauntlet would have belonged to a cuirassier`s armour similar to inv. no. II. 94 in the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds
A RARE WESTERN EUROPEAN `GOTHIC` BREASTPLATE, POSSIBLY FLEMISH, LATE 15TH CENTURY formed of a rounded main plate with angular outward turns at its neck and arm-openings, each decorated with a repeated pattern of paired notches, and three plugged holes at the right armpit formerly occupied by staples for the attachment of a lance-rest, a plackart of triangular form articulated to the main plate by a sliding-rivet at its apex and an internal leather at each side, and decorated medially with hollowed narrow keel and to either side of its upper edge with patterns of filed notches and nicks, and a fauld of one lame decorated medially with a rib en suite with that of the plackart (lightly patinated overall) 43.2 cm; 17 in
A RARE OTTOMAN SHAFFRON, TURKEY, FIRST HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY formed of a main plate tapering slightly to its rounded lower end, cut away at the upper corners for a pair of ear pieces (missing), embossed over the eye openings, the main plate formed with three embossed flutes along the lower portion and a medial ridge over the upper, the right of the brow incised with the mark of the Imperial Ottoman Arsenal at Istanbul, and pierced border for a lining (chemically cleaned, small chips) 53.5 cm; 21 1/8 in
A RARE 40 BORE EIGHT-SHOT MATCHLOCK PISTOL BARREL AND CHAMBER, EARLY 17TH CENTURY, MOUNTED ON A CANNON CARRIAGE, 18TH CENTURY with three stage swamped barrel, the muzzle and median sections each encased in latten, reeded breech incorporating a brass back-sight and a spring catch for the cylinder, eight-shot cylinder, each chamber with square vent field, retaining three brass covers each incorporating a spring and steel knob on the top (the other five missing), retained by a faceted nut at the rear; and fitted beneath the breech with a pair of later trunnions: on a saluting cannon carriage with scrolling cheeks, applied with pierced and engraved brass panels including a hunter in contemporary dress within an architectural landscape 31.5 cm; 12 3/8 in barrel A snaphaunce revolving rifle dated 1597 preserved in the Tøjhusmuseet, Copenhagen (nr. B294) and a matchlock revolving rifle of circa 1610 preserved in the Hermitage, St Petersburg each have a revolving cylinder of related type. See A. Hoff 1969 pp. 254-6.
A RARE 32 BORE NORTH EUROPEAN FLINTLOCK SPORTING GUN, CIRCA 1700, PROBABLY DUTCH with slender tapering barrel formed in two stages, chiselled with a vertical arrangement of military scenes including an encampment, infantrymen and a cavalryman with a panel of foliage top and bottom, fitted with silver fore-sight and moulded silver back-sight, slender tang decorated with a chevron design, stepped lock boldly engraved with foliage signed `N. M.` on the tail, half-stock moulded over the fore-end (areas of worm), impressed `49` behind the lock, paddle-shaped butt finely carved with a cavalry engagement on the right, brass mounts comprising moulded trigger-guard with foliate terminal, solid side-plate, butt-plate with slender tang of shaped outline and four moulded ramrod-pipes, and bone fore-end cap 116.5 cm; 46 in barrel It is likely that this gun was shortened to half-stock around the middle of the 18th century and most of the brass mounts were renewed at this time. A gun with a butt carved in the same manner was sold Christie`s Paris, 31st March 2011, lot 622.
Loading...
