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537 A .330 CALIBRE SILESIAN WHEEL-LOCK BIRDING RIFLE (TSCHINKE), THIRD QUARTER OF THE 17TH CENTURY with slender octagonal barrel swamped at the muzzle, struck with maker’s mark, probably that of Georg (1) Kału a (Neue Støckel 7678), hexagonal bore rifled with six very narrow grooves and fitted with copper fore-sight and moulded tubular back-sight, engraved slender lock fitted with mechanism of characteristic part-external construction, engraved with a boldly drawn pattern of scrolling flowers, fitted with engraved sliding pan-cover with brass release button, the wheel-spindle impaling an arched and brasscovered bracket engraved with a guilloche band, the dog engraved with a stylised grotesque and a flower, and retaining the original brass bridle for fitting over the mainspring (the mainspring, its chain, the setting button and the bridle for the dog-spring all missing), fruitwood full stock inlaid over its length with a series of engraved horn plaques interspersed with plain mother-of pearl plaques, the latter lozenge-shaped over the fore-end and formed as discs over the rear, all arranged within horn linear borders and segmental lines, the butt with carved cheek-piece decorated with a horn roundel engraved with the bust of a Turk, and fitted with horn butt-plate, iron trigger-guard, and engraved horn fore-end cap (the patch-box cover, four horn plaques, the ramrod-pipe and the ramrod all missing). 99 cm; 39 in barrel £3000-4000
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