Lynx

From the engraving and the coat of arms I would deduce that the rifle was made for a Rajpuit Prince or certainly for a Princley state. Justthe appearance of it conjours up a time of romance and ceremony from a long gone golden age of driven big game hunting, possibly from howdahs in the presence of colonial officials and even Kings.

As said in the previous post, if only these guns could talk to us, the tales they could tell. Still it is nice to see it in such superb condition and presumably still in India, glad to note that all such fine guns did not dissapear into Police armouries post 1947 independenc.

It is these types of commissions form the Rajput rulers that ultimately gave rise to the modern form of high art engraving that we see today much of which is more life like than even the photographs of the subject matter. Thank you for posting the pictures, if there is any further history your friend wold be willing to release I am sure there would be much interest in hearing it, me for one!

jonathan