A Brass Sporting Gun Dated 1624

SHORTER NOTES I 215 brasA s sportin daten ggu d 1624 by Stuart Maxwell n 197I Museue 3th m bought fro antiqun ma e 'speciaa dealer f o d ,l ai witpurchas e hth e grant' from the Treasury, a sporting gun of brass, bearing the date '1624' and the maker's initials 'IL' (upside down), identified as James Low of Dundee (pis 29-32b); only the firing butte th f , o whic mechanis d 48-s i en (1-23 hn n 5i e take gu th longsteelf ) o e e 2 d m s th i an Th ,. form of a pierced crown, can be extended another 3-6 in (91 mm) on two brass rods controlled sprino bt weighi ytw d g an catcheinne e s) th butte rn mm o s e borsidth 3 th f ;0-5s e(1 i o e n 2i 7 Ib If 02. The firing mechanis bees mha n altered from snaphaunc coven d dogloco pa t e an r e th k- steel now form one piece and the lock can be held at half cock by an outside safety catch, a development which may date from about 1665 (Whitelaw 1925). The gun's mechanism was altered therefore about forty years after its making, probably within its working life. The top jaw of the cock and its screw, and the trigger and its guard are replacements. A later owner's name and date, 'John Brown/C/1755' have been added in what was originally a void shield on the barrel. decorates i n gu engraviny e db Th barrele th n go , frettee stoc buttd th alsd kan n an do ,o butt-extension. The raised parts of the barrel (at the muzzle where there are three 'collars', just before the stock, where there are two half 'collars', and at the lock end of the barrel) have been chiselled to add to the decoration. The engraved decoration derives from European Renaissance styles, mainly strapwork panels enclosing stylised roses and acanthus leaves in between curving lined leaan sf scrolls e remaininTh . g origina e lstee th part lf o sloc k also have tracef o s engraving. All-metal pistols are the characteristic productions of Scottish gunsmiths from before 1600 18te th hf centuryo earlies e d brassf th o en d e e t.ar ,an th Guns o t , however muce ,ar h less common than pistols, and the only other brass sporting gun known is that now in the Armouries of HM Tower of London and described by William Reid in the Connoisseur (Reid 1966); its number inventore th Armourie e n i th f yo XIIs si originas .it los n s 1786l a ha tal s t I l.ha steew lno locd kan orthodox flintlock mechanism; unfortunately this means thaoriginae th t l lock platlongeo n s ei r there and with it has gone the maker's mark; part of the raised breech of the barrel was cut away in the conversion, which removed the last numeral of the date engraved over the breech. Reid is of the opinion that the remaining upper loop suggests that the date was 1612, 1618 or 1619. He also comments that the barrels of brass pistols signed 'IL' and the Tower gun 'were probably engraved by the same hand'. Comparison of the two brass guns leaves the writer in no doubt of accurace th Reid'f yo s confidentle opinionb n ca t I . y asserted, thereforee th ,n i tha gune w th t sno Tower Armourie Nationae th d san l Museum were both mad 'IL'consequency e eb .On thas ei t ti can be assumed the Museum's gun will originally have had a trigger-guard very like that of the Tower gun, described by Reid as 'a simple curve from a forward screw to a disc finial [engraved with a rose] at the rear'. The Tower gun has a barrel of 33-75 in, a bore of 0-47 in and weighs e correspondinth ; oz I8 1 b g e Museum'figureth r fo s se sam gunth en i , measurementse ar , 36-15 in and 0-52 in and 7 Ib If oz. Before considerin engravede gth gunso decoratiotw ,e otheth f o nr comparisone b y ma s made. Reid has described the expanding butt device on the Tower gun, 'This is a notched brass slide endin frettea n gi d royal crown e slidTh .e fits int osockea t withi holloe nth ws i butd an t retained in any one of six positions by a spring bolt working upwards in the toe of the butt to 216 | PROCEEDINGS OF THE SOCIETY, 1974-5 engag differene th en i t notches. Museum'e 'Th extend brasn o sgu tw sn rodso s (one being defective, broke secone nth oft a fd innermost notch), controlle fivn di e extended position sprino tw y gsb catches, in what is probably an improved, more stable way of making the extension. The two crowns are very alike, rather crude, English crowns with a central cross flanked by fleurs de lys witincompleto htw e crosseoutsidese th Towen e crowe o s th endn Th .n ngu ro s rather weakly and the outer bar is plain; on the Museum's gun the arches of the crown are surmounted by a central roundel containin ga cros s flanke alternatiny b d g small circle e d pointsth an sd an , heel bar is shaped; it seems probable that the heel of the Tower gun has been damaged and repaired. Reid dreLivrustkamae th w n i attentio n gu a Stockholn rno i t m wit 'armorialn ha ' extension, 'a shield plate witScottis e arme th h th f so h d familan Spenf d yo ro a s drawn e whico b t n nhou ca locked wit hsprina paia Scottisf o butt'o rt e g righe d th catc th f an ,o th n h o pistol privata n si e collection dated 1614 with extending butts; the pistols are also by 'IL'. He considered that the presenc English-typn a f eo e Towecrowe th mean n n no gu r mads membeta thar wa efo t i t f o r James VI and I's family, and he designated Prince Charles, the later Charles I, as the most likely owner. thoughe H t tha interlacee tth d C-Scrolls whic featur a decoratio e e th h ar f ebuto e th tf no supporte cases cited hi an ,d armou Towee th t ra r long associated with Charle othed san r items associated with Charles I and II which have addorsed C's in their decoration. If a crown-shaped butt-extension signifie royaa s l owner Museum'e th , alsn osgu qualifie royaa s a s l gun. Clueo st the owner's identity are absent from the decoration on the faces of the butt; there are, however, small, addorsed C's in the first strapwork panel on the barrel, near to the date; these appear to write e vere th b yo rt muc hdecoratione sampare th f th to t e a tim t ,bu e the identicae yar forn li m with the more prominent C's on the Tower gun. The pair of brass pistols in the Museum, again by 'IL', associated with Loui 326d s an XII) 5 hav Francf I32 o e H theie(L r owner's nam armd ean s on top of the barrel, a more normal position. There were originally void shields on both guns, thesd an e would see e obvioumth s place proclaio t s m royal ownership, whic s surelt hwa yno somethin hiddene b o gt . Both shield surmountee ar s badly db y drawn crowned helmetse th ; crown dissimilare sar Towee th ,bein e on r g Museue spik th thad n ycrushean n o t mgu d almost f existenceo t ou . The decoration of the gun is so closely linked with that of the Tower gun that they are best described together. Superficially they are different because of their colour, the rich brown of the earlier, Tower gun and the bright brass of our later example, but they are so alike in proportion and design that the engraver was faced by the same situation in both. The upper side of the barrel Museum'e oth f divides i n sgu d into panel strapwory sb k which interlace t intervalssa , witha four-petalled rose in roundels formed at each join. The panels contain flowers and leaves, either in scrolls or arranged on each side of a central stalk, stylised versions of acanthus decoration. The result lacks the variety of the decoration on the barrel of the Tower gun ('panels of chevronny, cheeky, leaf and tendril pattern') because the strapwork is more prominent and cuts down the space available for the motifs within the panels. There is an elongated key pattern along the sides stoce ofth k supportin barrel e runnina g th d an , g scrol half-acanthuf o l undero stw leavee -th n so sides; the Tower barrel has a similar key pattern, but rather weak S-chains on the undersides. The acanthus-type scroll is repeated further along the stock and the underside of the butt, except at the broader part under the lock where there are two opposing chevrons with leaves and flowers Towee th anglese in th o r s guna , .

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