OK, photos are done. Here are the details:

This particular .577 Snider rifle was retailed by JC & A Lord of London, Birmingham and Bombay. It belonged to the King of Nepal and was reputedly used by the Palace Guards for ceremonial purposes. The rifle was brought to Tasmania by Colin P_, who acquired it in Canada when he worked there in about 1974. He was working for a dealer who bought a case of them from Nepal, and he was able to pick out the best example. The metalwork is finished bright, and is assumed to have been delivered 'in the white’. The bore is in excellent condition showing rare use if any. The stock figure is particularly pleasing, and the buffalo-horn fore-end tip adds a nice touch.

You can see from the hammer face and the muzzle crown that the rifle has seen very little use, and given the circumstances it may have been rarely discharged if at all.

That is something I intend to rectify!!

Anyway, that is the provenance I was given, however the rifle does show signs of having been cleaned up at some stage in its past, and although a glossy stock may have been appropriate for a Ceremonial rifle it has the look of a TruOil-style refinish. Regardless of the actual circumstances, it remains in truly marvellous condition for a firearm that has survived some ~130 mango-seasons!