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Lot 516

A Fine And Extremely Rare Pair Of Cased Russian 54-Bore Enclosed-Action Breech-Loading Percussion Centre-Fire Rifled Pocket Pistols On The Pauly Principle
Signed Artari-Colomba A Moscou, Circa 1840

27 July 2006, 10:30 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £16,200 inc. premium

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A Fine And Extremely Rare Pair Of Cased Russian 54-Bore Enclosed-Action Breech-Loading Percussion Centre-Fire Rifled Pocket Pistols On The Pauly Principle
Signed Artari-Colomba A Moscou, Circa 1840

With blued octagonal sighted barrels each rifled with sixteen grooves, signed in gold along the top and bottom flats, decorated with inlaid and engraved gold arabesques and strapwork at the muzzle and hinged breech, and tipping-down for loading when the action is in the cocked position and the barrel released by a bright flush-fitting spring-catch on the left side of the action, extractable steel cartridges each pierced with three holes around a central pillar, blued actions decorated en suite with the barrels and comprising bevelled side-plates (two old replacements) and tang-plates, the latter each extending along the top and bottom of the butts, the top tangs each inlaid in gold with crowned owner's monogram 'AD', a flush-fitting sprung cocking-lever behind held by a minute spring-catch, the bottom tangs each with flush-fitting folding trigger released by a sprung-stud disguised as a screwhead, rounded ebony butts (minor damage) each with carved scalloped pommel, and retaining much of their original finish: in original fitted ebony case of plinth form with white-metal mounts (lock removed), lined in green velvet with original blued bullet mould (three accessories missing), the exterior of the lid (split) with white-metal escutcheon engraved with owner's coat-of-arms within a crowned baldachin
10 cm. barrels

Footnotes

Provenance:
By family tradition acquired by the famous Liège gunmaker Auguste Francotte from Prince Anatole Demidoff, Prince de San Donato (1812-1870) of the well-known mining and weapon manufacturing family. He was famous for his extensive travelling and as a patron of the arts

For a full account of Samuel Johannes Pauly, including details of the purchase of a number of his guns on behalf of the Emperor of Russia, see W. Reid, 'Pauly, Gun-Designer', J.A.A.S., Vol. II, No. 9 (March 1958), pp. 181-210. A patent for a gun and cartridge firing a copper cap was taken out in France by Clément Pottet (who had been a workman for Pauly) on 3 March 1829, Patent No. 3930. See Lewis Winant, Early Percussion Firearms, 1959, pp. 41, 93 and 166, pls. 12, 93 and 217

Additional information

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