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LOT 295
Stunning Chiseled, Engraved, and Carved Early 18th Century
Flintlock Straight Rifled Sporting Gun with Carved Mask
of Ernst August I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, on the Stock - NSN,
65 cal., 41 7/8 inch round bbl., bright finish, walnut stock. This
spectacular European sporting gun from the beginning of the 18th
century features a bright barrel with straight rifling, a rounded
brass blade front sight, raised sighting line, chiseled foliate and
grotesque mask motifs on the breech section, and a groove rear
sight on the tang. A long padded tampion is included. The flat
beveled lock is also chiseled and engraved with masks and wyvern
motifs and has a faceted priming pan. The steel mounts are chiseled and engraved
en suite and include ornate foliate finials as well as piercings on the side plate and trigger guard finial. The full-length
stock has a light horn forend cap, molding, relief carved foliate motifs, inlaid accents at the border of the butt, and “EA” over a carved mask of Ernst
August with inlaid eyes behind the barrel tang. Ernst August I (Ernest Augustus I, 1688-1748), Duke of Saxe-Weimar, reigned from 1707 to 1748 (only
nominally until 1728) and was also the Duke of Saxe-Eisenach from 1741-1748 creating Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Ernst August I, a devoted sportsman,
bankrupted the duchy with his excessive spending. A certificate of authenticity filled out for Norman R. Blank by F. Theodore Dexter accompanies the
gun.
CONDITION: Fine with silver-gray patina, crisp chiseling and engraving, some faint oxidation/pitting, replaced cock screw, and general minor wear. The
stock is also fine and has crisp carving and molding, minor dings and scratches, a repaired crack between the nose of the lock and side plate, and minor chips.
Mechanically functions.
Provenance: The Collection of the Dukes of Saxe-Weimar at Schloss Ettersburg; The Norman R. Blank Collection.
Estimate: 4,000 - 7,500 285 285