A 12 BORE SPANISH MIQUELET-LOCK SPORTING GUN BY FERNANDO MURUA, EIBAR, CIRCA 1790-1800

A 12 BORE SPANISH MIQUELET-LOCK SPORTING GUN BY FERNANDO MURUA, EIBAR, CIRCA 1790-1800with blued barrel formed in two stages, with silver 'spider' fore-sight, chiselled and gilt girdle, octagonal breech inlaid with silver foliage surmounted by birds ahead of the gold-lined barrelsmith's marks and further decorative marks (small losses, bluing now brown), engraved tang, signed flat lock with chiselled, gilt and engraved details, half stock with 'Catalan' butt, engraved and blued steel mounts including butt-plate with foliate tang, trigger-guard with parcel gilt foliate terminal, a pair of silver side-nail washers, silver ramrod-pipe, a silver band at the fore-end and a silver sprung plaque engraved as a fish engaging a single silver barrel band (later ramrod), 91.0 cm barrelA similar gun by Antonio Guisasola from the collection of Dr James D. Lavin was sold in this room 10th July 2019, lot 286. A more elaborate example made in 1796 and presented to Carlos IV is preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (acc. no. 16.135). See Lavin 1965, p. 262.