A RARE PRESENTTATIONAL ARTISTICALLY DESIGNED FLINTLOCK HUNTING RIFLE WITH A SILVER GILDED COAT OF ARMS OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE, 1720s – 1730s

Master’ mark “MARCUS ZELNER in WIENN” with a Damascus steel barrel, a silver gilded coat of arms of the Russian Empire and a gilded device Overall length - 109.5 cm; barrel - 71.2 cm; caliber - 1.5 cm; rifling – 7 The fitting consists of a stock, a barrel, a flintlock and a silver gilded instrument. Wooden ramrod with bronze gilded ornamented tip. The screw for fastening the strap is located in the lower part of the butt. The barrel is made of Damascus steel, is octahedral and threaded. On the top, inlaid with gold, the name of the master is inscribed: “.MARCUS. ZELNER.” As an aiming device, the nozzle on the upper edge of the barrel is equipped with a steel gold-plated adjustable front sight and entirely in the form of two brass plates with a notch, on a hinge. The trigger guard is brass, gilded, figured shape, with an extended trigger guise, with an additional needle. The trigger is made of steel, fixed on the axis (transverse pin). Flintlock, impact type, secured in the box with three screws (one screw is lost). The larva is decorated with an engra-ved floral ornament picturing a scene of a deer with dogs. On the front side of the lock there is an engraved inscription of the name of the master - manufacturer: “MARCUS ZELNER IN WIENN”. The butt plate and the needle are decorated with engraved floral patterns all over the surface. On the needle there is an image of a female figure with a spear and a dog - the goddess of hunting Artemis. A silver gilded Emblemof the Russian Empire in the form of a two-headed crown is mounted on the neck of the butt. The tide in the lower part of the choke is trimmed with a brass gilded ornamented figured plate, in the central part, inlaid with horn and bone and an image - the symbol of the Bethlehem star, the birth of Jesus Christ. The works of the master Marcus Zelner are in the collections of famous European museums. Rare in the antique market. Condition: very good Provenance : Count Keller’s collection from St. Petersburg. The contents of the collection were sold at auction in Sweden in 1920 (according to when the rifle was auctioned at Hermann Historica in 2007).