Offered here is an extremely exceptional example of an early Holland & Holland double rifle which was manufactured in 1883 for the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam-ul-Mulk of Hyderabad, or more commonly known as the Nizam of Hyderabad, was a monarch of the Hyderabad State that ruled one of India’s princely states from 1724 to 1948. When this rifle was manufactured the Nizam of Hyderabad was Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VI (1866-1911). It is his crest that is found on this rifle. Other Hollands and Hollands manufactured for Mir Mahbub Ali Khan have been documented in Donald Dallas' book "Holland & Holland: The Royal Gunmaker" (see pages 93-100 and 278-280). According to Dallas, "Between the two wars when Britain was in the throes of The Depression, it was orders from the Indian Princes that helped maintain Holland & Holland…As befitted their Eastern culture, the Princes' firearms were highly engraved, inlaid with precious metals and housed in cases of extraordinary quality." Note that a gold inlaid 10 bore rifle serial number 8266 made for the Nizam is part of the Holland & Holland collection (94-95). Serial numbers 8333 and 8399 which are a pair numbered "1" and "2" are documented in the book (96-100). A consecutively numbered pair of Holland & Hollands (Nos. 15181/2) is also known to have been manufactured for the Nizam (278-280). The Nizam’s father died in 1869, making Mir Mahbub Ali Khan the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad at age 2 years and 7 months. Dying at the age of 45, the Nizam’s more the 40 years of reign left Hyderabad a more prosperous and progressive state. Railways, schools, colleges and the first library in Hyderabad were built. Electric power, telephone lines and telegraph cables were installed. He lived a lavish lifestyle, owning enormous collections of clothing and cars. It was said that he never wore the same outfit twice. An entire palace wing was devoted to his clothing collection. The Jacob Diamond, which is ranked as the world’s fifth largest diamond, was bought by the Nizam and is now part of the Jewels of The Nizams owned by the Indian government. In the aftermath of the flood of 1908, he opened his palace to the homeless and for his noblemen he relieved them of their debts. According to the managing trustee of Deccan Heritage Trust Mohammed Saifullah, "He was undoubtedly the most popular of all the rulers of Asaf Jahi dynasty." The Nizam was a legendary hunter of big game. During his hunting excursions he was known to ride in a comfortable 20 by 15 foot mahal mounted on top of an elephant. Photos from these hunts often show the Nizam with tigers. Tiger hunting was a popular recreational sport in India during the era of British imperialism. Hunting the most dangerous species of the big cats in India’s dense jungles was an affluent pastime that strengthened the bond between British officials and Indian royalty. This firearm is the ultimate tiger hunting rifle. The barrels are chambered for the massive 12 bore rifle cartridge feature a blade front sight and a small round fill-up brass sight ahead of it and a fixed leaf rear sight marked "50" mounted on the solid rib. The top of the rib is smooth from the muzzle to the rear sight and matte from the rear sight to the breech. The top of the right barrel near the breech is gold inlaid "98 NEW BOND STREET LONDON" and "HOLLAND & HOLLAND" on the left. The muzzle end of the barrels is engraved with a leaf design and there is a floral scroll design on the breech end and dolls head extension with gold inlaid highlights. The receiver, locks, hammers, forearm hardware, under mounted break lever and tangs are floral scroll engraved and also feature extensive floral vine gold inlay. Each lock also has a lion’s head in the gold inlay and the sides of the receiver have a mythical beast’s head. The serial number is gold inlaid on the lower tang. The matching serial number is also marked on the water table (twice), barrel flat and on the forearm hardware. The water table is marked with two British "crown/V" proof marks, and the barrel flats are marked with two "crown/GP" and two "crown/V" and two unrecognizable proof marks. There is a sling swivel mounted on the underside of the rib. The barrels, trigger guard bow are blue, the remaining parts are casehardened. Double triggers, and mounted with extra fancy multi-point checkered walnut splinter forearm and pistol grip stock with a horn grip cap, cheek piece and solid recoil pad. There is a large gold initial oval on the underside of the stock with Nizam’s crest surmounted by a rampant tiger and the left rear of the stock is stamped with a small number "8". The stamp appears to have been done at the factory. The accompanying Holland & Holland factory letter verifies the configuration of this rifle including 12 bore, "gold inlaid with interwined gold dragons and grapes and vines," 24 inch fully rifled barrels, rebounding locks, cheek piece and recoil pad. The factory ledger entry for this rifle is dated May 31, 1884. The rifle comes in a leather and walnut case with monogram and "12 BORE" in black on the outside of the lid, nickel plated brass corner protectors, leather straps and handle. A paper label inscribed in Arabic on the outside of the lid is similar to other labels found on rifle cases owned by the Nizam. The interior of the case has an H&H label affixed to the inside of the lid and royal blue velvet lining. In the case is a two piece cleaning rod, nickel H&H 12 bore bullet mold, brass and ebony handled wad seater, powder measure, shell extractor, ball crimper, spring compression tool, 2 wooden handled screwdrivers, a wooden handled nipple wrench, Hawksley oiler, wad cutter, cleaning rod attachments and six 12 bore rounds. Length of pull is 14 inches.

Excellent. The barrels retain 98% original blue finish with some minor spotting under the forearm. The trigger guard retains 95% original blue finish with some normal wear from the lever. 98% original vivid case colors remain on the remaining metal surfaces. All of the exceptional gold inlay remains. The wood is also excellent with only light handling marks and crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The case is fine with some stains, dents and scuffs on the exterior, fading, contact wear and some material loss on the interior. All of the accessories are fine or better. Although the case and accessories look used, the rifle appears unfired. A truly outstanding Holland and Holland 12 bore double rifle!