Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 | 12:00 PM GMT
Auction closed.
Antique Arms, Armour & Militaria
Wednesday, December 3, 2014 | 12:00 PM GMT
Auction closed.
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Description
Including the Armoury of the Princely House of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, removed from Schloss Langenburg
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AN EXTREMELY RARE GERMAN COMBINED HUNTING-SWORD AND WHEEL-LOCK PISTOL, THIRD QUARTER OF THE 17TH CEN
Lot # 251 (Sale Order: 251 of 456)
the blade and the pistol each circa 1600; the blade long, straight and double-edged, formed with a full-length medial ridge on both sides, tapering to a very narrow point, decorated on one side at the base with an etched panel involving an eagle, the opposite side with a corresponding longer panel filled with trophies-of-war, the hilt formed of a short moulded iron crosspiece fitted with buckhorn quillons capped by iron discs, with a guard of matching construction projecting from the intended outer face, and grip of natural staghorn with iron ferrule and cap pommel , fitted with a boxed back-action wheel-lock mechanism on one side at the base of the blade, the lock-plate fitted with sliding pan-cover, trigger-lever, external wheel retained by a chamfered ring and the dog-spring and its bridle each decorated with delicate mouldings, with slender barrel formed in two stages with moulded muzzle and medial girdle, and the barrel tang of boxed construction and also forming a vented breech chamber: in its original leather-covered wooden scabbard with iron suspension hook and chape (the hilt has been disassembled, presumably for cleaning, and re-assembled incorrectly with the crosspiece now reversed; one side-nail for the lock mechanism missing).87.4cm; 34 3/8 in blade
A FINE PAIR OF BOHEMIAN FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS BY LEOPOLD BECHER, CIRCA 1730
Lot # 252 (Sale Order: 252 of 456)
with sighted barrels lightly swamped towards the muzzles, signed on the ribs, the respective breeches decorated with opposing classical warrior busts chiselled in low relief within pounced recessed cartouches, together with maker's stamps lined in gilt-copper in the Madrid style and set within raised shaped panels at the rear (Neue Støckel 38, together with a second unrecorded stamp, a dog), the barrel tangs engraved correspondingly with a further opposing pair of classical warrior busts, with bevelled locks chiselled in low relief, principally within a series of recessed panels, each decorated with a recumbent figure within a trophy-of-war and with a boar's head hunting trophy at the rear, figured walnut full stocks carved in low relief over their lengths, decorated with complex interlaced scrollwork mouldings about the barrel tangs and behind the ramrod-pipes, full gilt-bronze mounts finely cast in relief, comprising spurred pommels decorated with figural trophies-of-war en suite with the locks, also involving pairs of demon masks and each with demon mask cap cast prominently in relief, solid side-plates decorated with landscape vignettes involving combatant horsemen in early 18th century dress, trigger-guards centring on cartouches filled with warrior busts, pairs of faceted ramrod-pipes, one pair carrying its original ramrod with gilt-bronze cap (the other ramrod associated), and escutcheons formed as rollwerk cartouches each filled with the figure of Diana the Huntress52.1 cm; 20½ in -2
A RARE PAIR OF BRESCIAN FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS BY FILIPPO AND ANTONIO MORETTI, CIRCA 1750
Lot # 253 (Sale Order: 253 of 456)
with swamped barrels of "Spanish" form each with gold-lined maker's stamp of Filippo Moretti , silver "spider" fore-sights and chamfered muzzles, strongly bevelled locks cut with a raised linear design forming a series of elongated panels, signed "Filippo Moretti", lightly engraved with minutely detailed landscape vignettes including a walled city, the cocks and the steels finely chiselled and engraved, the respective cock retaining screws chiselled in the form of Roman male and female profile heads, with moulded highly figured curly walnut full stocks, full iron mounts finely chiselled in low relief, comprising spurred pommels engraved with trophies-of-arms and fitted with octagonal caps, the respective caps cut with Roman male and female busts, each enclosed by a moulded octagonal frame fitted in turn within the chiselled framework of a silhouetted city-landscape, with solid side-plates chiselled and engraved en suite with the locks, the landscapes and figural subjects differing slightly between the respective plates, trigger-guards decorated with cartouches filled with opposing and differing Roman busts and the finials pierced with scrollwork, engraved faceted baluster ramrod-pipes, the finials pierced en suite with the trigger-guards, the trigger-plates signed "Antonio Moretti", and each retaining its original iron-tipped ramrod50.2 cm; 19¾ in -2
A RARE PAIR OF GERMAN ALL-STEEL FLINTLOCK HOLSTER PISTOLS BY CHRISTIAN OR PETER CLOETER, MANNHEIM,
Lot # 254 (Sale Order: 254 of 456)
Low Estimate: 10,000High Estimate: 15,000
finished bright throughout, the barrels formed in three-stages segmented by moulded girdles and with octagonal breeches changing to faceted at their front, one struck with a mark on the breech, with back-action locks signed, respectively, "Cloeter Manheim"(sic) and "Cloeter Manheer" each within a matching frame of palm fronds engraved at the tail of the lock-plate, the locks each formed with a recessed long tail with an inner border raised in imitation of the contour of a conventional lock-plate and engraved with monster's head scrollwork within a linear enclosure, the butts formed in two halves, each struck with Hohenlohe-Langenburg ownership mark on the inside wall of the breech-face, each engraved in imitation of a spurred pommel, fitted with trigger-guards with small leafy finials, pairs of moulded ramrod-pipes, and each retaining its original iron baluster-tipped ramrod (one mainspring and one steel each missing, one tumbler bridle broken, the corresponding action consequently inoperable). 50.2 cm; 19 ¾ in-2
A RARE SOUTH GERMAN HEAVY BRONZE WALLGUN (DOPPELHAKEN ), DATED 1525, PROBABLY NUREMBURG
Lot # 255 (Sale Order: 255 of 456)
2.4cm calibre, the barrel cast in five stages with four characteristically narrow roped girdles, the forward four stages with raised scalloped edges, the muzzle and the forward section rounded, the muzzle flared slightly and with standing fore-sight, the rearward sections octagonal and widening progressively towards a short rectangular beech, cast with a large hook-like recoil-stop impaled by a transverse bolt and incised with an unusual numbering device on the right-hand side, probably that of the bronze founder , the penultimate rearward section decorated at its base with an engraved band of scale ornament arranged in triangular groups bordering a raised roped girdle at the breech, cast in relief with a shield quartered with a coarsely incised coat-of-arms and with the date "1525" also in relief on a stippled scroll above, the breech with bevelled leading edges, a further engraved scale pattern below a slotted back-sight projecting from a roped moulded base, the vent with integral pan on the right (pivot cover missing), and the underside with two lugs also carrying transverse bolts for mounting a stock: with later heavy wooden stock well-reconstructed in early 16th century style, with bevelled upper edges, the sides strongly bevelled forward of the recoil-stop, faceted behind the breech and with tapering separate tiller bound by an iron band145.4 cm; 57¼ in barrel, 214.6 cm 84½ in overall
A RARE GERMAN HEAVY IRON WALLGUN (DOPPELHAKEN), DATED 1537
Lot # 256 (Sale Order: 256 of 456)
2.3cm calibre, the barrel octagonal with flared rounded muzzle separated by a moulded girdle cut over the upper planes, decorated with incised double linear diagonal bands and with standing iron sight, the rear portion swelling towards the breech, boldly struck three times with a shield-shaped mark filled with a crossed device, a saltire or crossed arrows, punched with the date "1537", fitted with iron pan with pivot cover, standing iron back-sight formed as a centrally grooved small block widening towards its base, with integral triangular recoil-stop to the immediate rear of the muzzle section, impaled by a transverse bolt, and the breech fitted with a separate short rear lug also impaled by a transverse bolt: in a dark painted heavy wooden stock, flat-sided with bevelled edges and tapering behind the barrel, the stock probably 19th century138.4 cm; 54¼ in barrel, 194.4 cm; 76½ in overall
A GERMAN IRON WALLGUN (DOPPELHAKEN), SECOND HALF OF THE 16TH CENTURY
Lot # 257 (Sale Order: 257 of 456)
2.1cm calibre, the barrel octagonal with lightly flared muzzle changing to rounded section just ahead of a moulded girdle cut over the upper planes, standing iron fore-sight, the breech struck with maker's mark, in a shield, three stars bordered by dots about the lower edges, incised on each of its upper sides with an heraldic device, a kettle helmet (eisenhut) bearing three arrows vertically on its side, a third incised device between (now incomplete), fitted with pan with pivot cover, slab-sided slotted iron back-sight, a recoil-stop fitted over the barrel slightly to the rear of the median and impaled by a transverse bolt for mounting in the stock, and the underside of the muzzle section and the breech with a further two lugs similarly impaled: in a heavy dark-painted wooden stock, flat-sided with bevelled edges and tapering behind the barrel, perhaps the original121.4 cm; 47¾ in barrel and 165.8cm; 65¼ in overall£2500-3500
A GERMAN BRONZE SALUTING CANNON, 18TH/19TH CENTURY
Lot # 258 (Sale Order: 258 of 456)
61 cm; 24 in barrel-2£3000-5000
A RARE GERMAN 6-BORE HAND-IGNITED IRON BREECH-LOADING WALLGUN (BOCKBÜCHSE), ON ITS RAMPART CARRIAGE,
Lot # 259 (Sale Order: 259 of 456)
with long heavy iron barrel formed in two stages with faceted moulded girdle between, octagonal breech widening towards the rear, struck with a key mark four times both on the top and on the underside, struck twice with a further mark involving the letters NM (Neue Støckel 4157), the right-hand wall of the breech with vent and fitted with priming pan with pivoted cover, the upper face of the breech cut with linear mouldings framing a rectangular vertical slot, the latter intended for fitting a sliding locking-bar impaling jointly the full depth of the breech and the rear of the removable chamber, the chamber cylindrical and rear-entering on the same axis as the bore, with touch-hole and locking aperture each corresponding with the breech, struck with a further single key mark and fitted with octagonal base-plate carrying a U-shaped loop, with swamped muzzle, fore-sight, standing back-sight, a pair of trunnions sweated into dovetail joints, the underside with four rings for attaching a fore-stock, and the recoil-stop removed (the bar locking the chamber is missing, the pan-cover bent): on an early 17th century painted wooden carriage of characteristic tripod construction, fitted with a pair of small wooden wheels, and with iron mounts including the original elevating-screw supporting the breech of the barrel in a simple cradle159.5 cm; 62¾ in barrel; 185.5 cm; 73 in carriage
A FINE AND VERY RARE 39-BORE NUREMBERG WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE STOCKED BY THE "MASTER OF THE CAS
Lot # 260 (Sale Order: 260 of 456)
Low Estimate: 25,000High Estimate: 30,000
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.
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.
A FINE 15-BORE DUTCH FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY PIETER VAN SOOLINGEN, UTRECHT, CIRCA 1685
Lot # 261 (Sale Order: 261 of 456)
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 ramrod123.8 cm; 48¾ in barrel
A 26-BORE WALLOON FLINTLOCK WENDER CARBINE BY GILLE DE SELIER, CIRCA 1705-10, RESTOCKED IN GERMANY I
Lot # 262 (Sale Order: 262 of 456)
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
A RARE 15-BORE DUTCH FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE BY I.(JAN) VAN WYCK A UTRECHT,
Lot # 263 (Sale Order: 263 of 456)
CIRCA 1690in 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
A VERY RARE 11-BORE GERMAN SILVER-MOUNTED FLINTLOCK FOWLING-PIECE IN THE MADRID FASHION, BY JOHANN W
Lot # 264 (Sale Order: 264 of 456)
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 cap122 cm; 48 in barrel
A FINE 23-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1660-70
Lot # 265 (Sale Order: 265 of 456)
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
A FINE 26-BORE GERMAN (THURINGIAN) WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING RIFLE CIRCA, 1660-70
Lot # 266 (Sale Order: 266 of 456)
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
A RARE VIENNESE FLINTLOCK GARNITURE OF FIREARMS BY IOHANN ADAM GRÄZL (1), COMPRISING A PAIR OF HOLST
Lot # 267 (Sale Order: 267 of 456)
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
A 29-BORE VIENNESE FLINTLOCK RIFLED SPORTING CARBINE BY IOHANN ADAM GRÄZL (1), CIRCA 1730
Lot # 268 (Sale Order: 268 of 456)
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
A RARE ENGLISH ROYAL CASED 32-BORE PERCUSSION SHOTGUN BY WESTLEY RICHARDS, 170 NEW BOND ST., LONDON,
Lot # 269 (Sale Order: 269 of 456)
with 20in. sighted browned twist barrel signed in full on the beech flat, case-hardened breech engraved with the head of a game dog, platinum lines and plug, engraved breech tang, signed engraved lock, highly figured walnut half-stock with chequered grip, blued iron mounts including the butt-plate and trigger-guard each finely engraved with scrollwork en suite with both the breech tang and the lock, the trigger-guard with pineapple finial, with ivory fore-end cap, original ramrod, silver escutcheon engraved with a coronet of the Blood Royal, and retaining some original finish throughout, Birmingham proof marks: in its original brass-bound fitted oak case, lined in crimson velvet, the lid with Westley Richards trade label including the royal appointment "Gun Manufacturer To His Royal Highness Prince Albert", and with flush-fitting handle encircling a brass escutcheon also engraved with a coronet of the Blood Royal84.5 cm; 33¼ in overall length
A RARE GERMAN SMALL WHEEL-LOCK RIFLE BUILT FOR A CHILD, MID-17TH CENTURY
Lot # 270 (Sale Order: 270 of 456)
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£2000-3000
A RARE 87-BORE GERMAN SMALL WHEEL-LOCK SPORTING CARBINE MADE FOR A BOY, DATED 1649
Lot # 271 (Sale Order: 271 of 456)
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
A 28-BORE NORTH GERMAN FLINTLOCK RIFLED BOAR CARBINE BY PETER SALTER, LEMGO, CIRCA 1685
Lot # 272 (Sale Order: 272 of 456)
with sighted heavy barrel formed with an octagonal breech and swamped octagonal muzzle each engraved with decorative bands, the two medial sections faceted and divided by moulded girdles and the bore cut with seven grooves, signed rounded lock sparsely decorated with a single scroll chiselled in continuation of the scrollwork pattern cut in low relief on the cock (action seized, top jaw and screw missing), highly figured curly walnut full stock carved with scrollwork mouldings in low relief about the barrel tang and about each of the ramrod-pipes (the fore-end repaired and chipped in several places), the butt with raised cheek-piece carved with scrolls and inset with the brass letter "i", the underside with patch-box fitted with sliding cover, full iron mounts comprising butt-plate decorated with a serpent chiselled in low relief over the length of the comb, side-plate formed as a pierced chiselled monster's head scroll, trigger-guard with chiselled acanthus leaf finials and a pair of ramrod-pipes of pronounced baluster shape, the escutcheon engraved with a garland enclosing the owner's pierced engraved monogram and coronet laid over a contrasting oval background plate (originally blued), iron fore-end cap, sling-swivels, and original iron-tipped wooden ramrod (incomplete)55.9 cm; 22 in barrel £1500-2000
A RARE AND ELEGANTLY PROPORTIONED SMALL-BORE GERMAN FLINTLOCK RIFLE FOR A LADY, BUILT ON AN EARLIER
Lot # 273 (Sale Order: 273 of 456)
with swamped octagonal barrel, the breech inlaid with the silver inscription "Maria . Amalia. Landg. Zu. Hessen. 1674. Geb. V. Cvrland.", inlaid with a silver canopy of scrolls and pellets over a silver crowned device flanked by crowned lions, the latter possibly the arms of the Duchy of Courland, the breech inlaid in silver at its base with cabled lines framing an abbreviated inscription "Mi Et Av" over the letters "C A N", the muzzle decorated with a further band of silver scrollwork, rifled with six grooves and fitted with silver fore-sight and silver back-sight with chiselled finial, the barrel tang engraved with a mark, with bevelled plain lock, select quality figured walnut stock finely carved with a series of leaf and scrollwork mouldings in low relief over its rear half, the butt with raised cheek-piece decorated with trails of delicate scrolls at either end, fitted with sliding patch-box cover carved en suite, full brass mounts decorated in low relief in the Parisian taste, comprising butt-plate and trigger-guard each engraved with an interlaced scrollwork pattern and with moulded acanthus finials en suite with the stock, side-plate formed as a pierced design of scrolling leaves, monsters' heads and a grotesque mask, three faceted ramrod-pipes, escutcheon formed as a vacant cartouche, horn fore-end cap, and retaining its original iron ramrod, detached worm and sling-swivel (the rear swivel missing)71 cm; 28 in barrel
A FINE 33-BORE DANISH FLINTLOCK SPORTING RIFLE, CIRCA 1690
Lot # 274 (Sale Order: 274 of 456)
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 ramrod89 cm; 35 in barrel
A RARE 28-BORE EARLY FLINTLOCK WENDER GUN, DUTCH OR NORTH GERMAN, CIRCA 1655-60
Lot # 275 (Sale Order: 275 of 456)
with turn-over barrels formed in two stages, the breeches struck with maker's mark, in a shaped field, a hand, the letters GMI or GHI beneath, standing back-sights, the muzzles bound by a raised figure-of-eight ring also carrying the fore-sight beads and the barrels released by a spring-catch in front of the trigger-guard, flat back-action lock with strongly bevelled edges tapering to a minute bead finial, the leading edge decorated with a notable chamfer filed between a pair of side-nails entering from the right, the third side-nail entering from the opposite side and fitted with ring-neck straight cock engaging a dog safety, ebonised paddle-shaped butt with stamped milled borders, incised finely cabled subsidiary borders and the rear underside portion also forming a sliding cover for the patch-box, fluted fore-end carrying a pair of diagonally slotted iron ramrod-pipes on one side, iron butt-plate and trigger-guard, and original iron-capped wooden ramrod 128.5 cm; 50 5/8 in barrels
