142 - Rare large flintlock hunting rifle with rotating over-and-under barrels, made by Barroy in Paris:

Rare large flintlock hunting rifle with rotating over-and-under barrels, made by Barroy in Paris: Barrels with three sections: octagonal, then 16-sided over 3 cm, then round; length 117 cm, caliber 13.5 mm; long breech stock mounted with two screws, lightly engraved at the top; rear half-trigger guard with a flat body, rounded at the end, lightly engraved with foliage, and signed: “Barroy,” swan-neck hammer, round, with a mounting screw engraved with a flower and mounted from the inside; front half-trigger guard with a flat body, engraved with a flower; each features a brimless pan, a firing mechanism, and the firing spring; the barrels are unlocked and locked by pressing the trigger backward; iron trigger guard and upper part of the buttstock heel; sturdy buttstock of veined walnut, hallmarked, with a long, two-piece stock separating the two barrels; a wooden rod attached to one of the two sides; total length 156 cm. (One front sight is missing, a small chip at the end of one barrel, and a slight crack at the other). Date: second half of the 17th century (1650–1680). Good condition. HALLMARKS: two fish joined together, the mark of the armory at Dyck Castle. PROVENANCE: armory, then collection of the Princes of Salm-Reiffersheidt, Dyck Castle; Christie’s auction, 2nd session, September 23, 1992, lot 384. The catalog and supporting documentation are included. BARROY, an arquebusier in Paris, originally from Saint-Mihiel (Meuse), was forced to leave his village due to the plague in 1660; since he was actually working in Maastricht (Netherlands), he was not placed in quarantine. His signature appears on various weapons intended as royal gifts. He used the mark “P B” with crowns. Another BARROY is listed as an arquebusier in Maastricht around 1700–1720 (could this be the same person, or a son or relative?).