This extraordinary wheellock rifle dates to circa 1700 and features a highly unusual construction with no externally visible screws or pins for the lock and mounts. The swamped octagonal barrel is rifled with seven grooves. The muzzle face is chiseled with a sunken shaped design with a stippled background bordered by lightly engraved swags. The muzzle is chiseled in low relief with scrollwork against a stippled background surrounding the brass blade front sight. The barrel tang is decorated with a recessed panel of scrollwork against a stippled background, and this decorative motif extends along the breech and surrounds the two-leaf rear sight. The scrollwork on the barrel is inhabited by two serpent heads. The touch hole is brass lined. The flat lock with its internal wheel is profusely decorated over its entire surface with further low relief scrollwork inhabited by further serpent and monster heads, a large grinning monster mask forming the fence to the priming pan, and the sliding pan cover chiseled in the round in the form of a recumbent lion. The cock and spring fence are elaborately pierced and chiseled in relief with a principle scene involving St. George spearing the dragon along with human masks and figures of mermaids armed with bows and arrows. The walnut full stock of characteristic form is heightened with inlaid panels of alternating bone and dark horn, a large dark horn forearm cap with bone inlays, four shaped mother-of-pearl inlays to the butt, and a horn buttplate with iron button. The fluted sliding patchbox cover is decorated with green horn, bone, and rootwood and contains an iron wheellock spanner. The iron mounts comprise of a chiseled scrollwork and monster head side plate and finger groove trigger guard with the bow chiseled en suite with the barrel, a pierced urn and foliage finial, and the rear support of the trigger-guard in the form of a wild man. The iron trigger plate is chiseled with a further humanoid figure. With ramrod. Provenance: The Norman R. Blank Collection

Fine with cleaned ironwork, crisp and clear chiseled decoration throughout, light scattered spotting, and an old repair to one leg of the wild man on the trigger guard. The stock is fine with some old chips along the edges of the forend, a crack on the left side near the ramrod entry, an inlet repair at the rear of the comb, slightly softened carved decoration, generally some bruising, blemishes and scratches throughout, and some old scattered worm holes. The set trigger is incomplete. The lock mechanism has not been tested.