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The rifle features blued barrels with a raised solid rib with panels of matting at the front and rear fitted with a beaded blade front sight and a 100 yard V-notch rear sight with platinum sight line and signed “J. PURDEY & SONS, AUDLEY HOUSE, SOUTH AUDLEY STREET, LONDON.” ahead of the rear sight. The underside of each barrel and the forearm iron are marked with the matching serial numbers, and the barrels and watertable are struck with London black powder proof marks. “J. PURDEY/PATENTEE” is marked on top of the standing breech. The barrels are equipped with an extractor. Aside from the barrels, the metal components are finished in French gray and display extraordinary deep relief chiseling and engraving primarily consisting of complex interlacing foliate scrollwork inhabited by floral blooms and a variety of animals, masks, and mythical beasts. The underside of the side-clipped action features a particularly complex mask design, and a further mask of a classical goddess is featured on the lever, and a putto is featured on the trigger guard tang. While the engraving of all four of the guns from the 1878 Exposition Universelle have been attributed previously to Aristide Barre, only two were noted in the period as engraved by Barre, and this rifle and serial number 9563 are both listed with an “L” in the column for engraving in Purdey’s Dimension Book which is believed to indicate engraving by James Lucas who was Purdey’s head in-house engraver and created the firm’s house engraving patterns. The back action island locks feature non-rebounding hammers and half-cock safeties. The checkered walnut splinter forearm features an Anson release engraved en suite, and the very highly figured buttstock features a checkered wrist and
an oval shadow line cheekpiece on the left. Sling eyes are fitted to the underside of the barrels and butt, the latter ahead of a silver oval escutcheon inscribed with the heraldry of Baron Keane. The accompanying brass cornered oak and leather takedown case is marked “The RIGHT HONBLE LORD KEANE.” and “PURDEY RIFLE.” in gilt letters and has Baron Keane’s coat of arms on the escutcheon. It is lined with red Morocco leather with gilt stamping
and contains a deluxe set of loading and maintenance equipment, including gilt Dixon cartridge extractor and gilt Purdey loading tool. A canvas and leather outer with painted baron’s coronet over “Rt Honble Lord Keane./Purdey Rifle” is also included.