144 - Beautiful flintlock hunting rifle, system-type, double-barreled side-by-side, by Philippe de Sellier:

Beautiful flintlock hunting rifle, system-type, double-barreled side-by-side, by Philippe de Sellier: Two separate blued steel barrels, each fitted with its own breech stock—first square, then rounded—bearing on the muzzles three square hallmarks on a gold background: “P S” crowned, and each signed: “PHILIPPE DE SELLIER”; they are held together by two spacers forming a ramrod passage, with silver sights; length 107 cm, caliber 14.5 mm; breech blocks polished to a white finish, engraved with foliage, blued mounting screws; beautiful, finely engraved flat-bodied lock plates, signed around the basins: “PHILIPPE DE SELLIER”; swan-neck hammers engraved; mounting screws and muzzle cap blued; octagonal flint-holding screw heads; engraved firing mechanisms; finely cut and engraved iron fittings; the stock features a finely cut, engraved, and openwork ring with six hearts, and a pronounced curve at the butt plate; stock made of veined walnut, with a short, slightly carved barrel; thumb rest in the shape of an ornate shield, made of engraved iron; on the wood, beneath the left trigger guard, an inventory number painted in white: “B 611”; total length 145 cm. Date: circa 1720. Very good condition. Philippe de SELLIER, arquebusier and arms dealer in Liège, 1676–1740. Enclosed is an issue of *Les Amis du musée d’armes de Liège* (No. 142, October 2023), containing an article about this rifle.