Lot Essay
Guns of this type were designed to be used for duck-shooting from huts (French 'huttes') with live decoys, a practice still in force in some parts of France
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CIRCA 1850
Details
A French Or Belgian 8-Bore Percussion Duck Gun
Circa 1850
With massive browned swamped Spanish two-stage barrel with silver spider fore-sight and chiselled girdle, the octagonal breech signed 'Bustindini En Placentia' and with two maker's stamps of Juan Esteban Bustindini of Eibar (Neue Støckel 130, 124) (gold lining missing from one) and a further ten gold-lined decorative marks, at the rear a band of brass-inlaid ornament, the underside of the breech engraved 'Canon à Double Ruban N.B. Ce Canon a été Commandé et fait exprès à double Ruban, le plein du Second se Collant sur les Chevauchures du premier', case-hardened patent breech with pierced platinum plug, case-hardened tang incorporating the back-sight, plain case-hardened lock, figured walnut half-stock (minor bruising), chequered grip, raised cheek-piece, plain iron mounts including trigger-plate extending to form the rear ramrod-pipe, copper barrel band, and original brass-tipped ramrod with worm
67 1/8in. (170.5cm.) barrel
Circa 1850
With massive browned swamped Spanish two-stage barrel with silver spider fore-sight and chiselled girdle, the octagonal breech signed 'Bustindini En Placentia' and with two maker's stamps of Juan Esteban Bustindini of Eibar (Neue Støckel 130, 124) (gold lining missing from one) and a further ten gold-lined decorative marks, at the rear a band of brass-inlaid ornament, the underside of the breech engraved 'Canon à Double Ruban N.B. Ce Canon a été Commandé et fait exprès à double Ruban, le plein du Second se Collant sur les Chevauchures du premier', case-hardened patent breech with pierced platinum plug, case-hardened tang incorporating the back-sight, plain case-hardened lock, figured walnut half-stock (minor bruising), chequered grip, raised cheek-piece, plain iron mounts including trigger-plate extending to form the rear ramrod-pipe, copper barrel band, and original brass-tipped ramrod with worm
67 1/8in. (170.5cm.) barrel
Literature
W. Keith Neal, Spanish Guns and Pistols, fig. 69 (barrel only)
Exhibited
The British Sporting Exhibition at the Imperial Institute, South Kensington, 14-30 January 1938, cat. no. 45
The Game Fair, Longleat House, 1962
The Game Fair, Longleat House, 1962
Special notice
VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.