Product Details
FORMERLY THE PROPERTY OF H.H. THE MAHARAJAH OF BHAVNAGAR
H. CLARKE & SONS
AN IMPRESSIVE 4-BORE PUSH-FORWARD UNDERLEVER HAMMERLESS BOXLOCK SELECTIVE-EJECTOR SINGLE-BARRELLED WILDFOWLING GUN, serial no. 11284,
36in. bold damascus nitro barrel engraved 'H. CLARKE & SONS. MIDLAND GUN WORKS. LEICESTER.', short sight rib gold-inlaid '1' in a roundel, surrounded by fine acanthus scroll motifs, massive hammerless action with push-forward underlever, carved arcaded fence, removable striker disc, broad topstrap gold-inlaid '1', automatic safety with gold-inlaid 'SAFE' detail, selective ejector system (ejects on firing only), fully engraved with best bold acanthus scrollwork on a matt background and with beaded borders, with 'H. CLARKE & SONS' in a scrolling banner, retaining much original colour-hardening and some finish, 14 1/4in. well-figured pistolgrip stock including 1in. rubber recoil pad, engraved and colour-hardened steel pistolgrip-cap, outsized sling eyes (rear eye with William Keith Neal collection medallion attached), the rear of the comb of the stock inlaid with a large gold escutcheon exquisitely enamelled with the crest of the Gohil dynasty, the Royal House of Bhavnagar, fore-end with horn finial and scroll-engraved grip-catch release lever, gold-inlaid '1', weight 14lb. 13oz.
Provenance: This and the following Lot provide a rare, possibly unique opportunity to re-unite two impressive and scarce 4-bore shotguns. This is an unusual occurrence in itself, but when the shared provenance is folded in we are presented with an exciting scenario indeed. The provenance falls into several parts but should begin with their original owner.
H.H. Maharaja Bhavsinhji II of Bhavnagar was born 1875 and acceded to the title, ruling the 13 gun salute princely state, in 1896. He was known as a just ruler as well as a fairly progressive one, and brought about much reform in his region. Both he and his eldest son, Krishna Kumarsinhji Bhavsinhji, introduced village councils and the region's first legislature, the Dharasabha, as well as bringing in new methods of tax collection, the latter proving strangely popular. During Kumarsinhji's reign his progressiveness was recognised by the British Raj and he was made a Knight Commander of the Star of India. Whilst he accepted the title he always quietly supported the cause of Indian independence and was one of the first Maharajahs to accede to the Dominion of India in 1947.
Like many of his peers, Bhavsinhji II was attracted to certain western customs and material trappings as a way of displaying his wealth and status. A fine example of this was a bespoke Landau-type coach that he had commissioned in 1915. Rather than use one of the prominent British builders he opted for the Fort Coach Factory of Bombay to build a remarkable vehicle; the body being of carved ash covered in sheets of silver. The silver was also chased and enamelled in various designs with the sides of the coach carrying his coat of arms (displayed above) and the family motto: "Mani shya Yatna Ishawara Kripa" which translates as "Man's Endeavour, God's Grace". This embodies the Hindu philosophy that all human endeavour is separated from its reward, true reward only being bestowed through divine grace.
He would have ordered the shotguns as wildfowlers (it is unlikely they were used with a solid slug) for use on the extensive water flats in his region. How they left his possession and were separated is not known and to expand further would be conjecture, and so we move on several decades to the 1960s and the no.1 gun's new owner.
The name W. Keith Neal needs little introduction (see Lot 425 for associated provenance), and it is thought that he acquired the gun in the 1960s although it could have been far earlier. We certainly know that the Clarke formed part of his collection and still retains its identification 'coin'. He may have purchased the gun, but it is equally likely that it was given to him (this happened on a fairly frequent basis to bolster the collection), and that being the case means that the gun hasn't appeared on the open-market before now. Keith Neal used the gun on many occasions close to Stranraer which he visited for the greylags, and indeed was still to be seen on the margins on freezing January mornings when he was 70 years of age. The gun was not offered at one of the Keith Neal sales and instead remained with the family.
The no.2 gun (Lot 1498) was discovered by its vendor during the 1980s in Holland & Holland's Bruton Street gunroom. He has kindly supplied the following information:
"Sometime in the '80s the writer [and vendor] was visiting the showroom of Holland & Holland, then the domain of Messrs. David Winks and 'Billy' Billiamora. As all good gun men are always checking dark corners, a large barrel was spied hiding on the top rack. It turned out to be the H. Clarke 4-bore nitro, without a stock or any finish on the metalwork.
"The obvious quality of the gun demanded a rescue! After being relieved of a King's ransom, the re-finishing of the metal and the browning of its damascus barrel was organised by H&H. The re-stocking was undertaken after much discussion as to the likely dimensions and style of its missing original.
"The gun then resided in South Australia for the next 20 plus years, occasionally being used on some unfortunate duck using custom plastic cases as original ammunition was unobtainable.
"As the gun was no.2 of a pair the dream was always there! Around 2004/5 the writer was nosing around Bonhams gun-room, when another large barrel was spotted in a distant rack; the no.1! Much derision was thrown at my white-faced statement that I owned this gun's pair and we had to wait until the number of no.2 could be verified.
"The discovery of a large gold and enamel escutcheon bearing the Maharajah's crest probably explains the disappearance of the original stock.
"The quest over the last seven years has been to re-unite this important and possibly unique pair. After unknown years apart this is now possible. With the kind agreement of the owners of the no.1 gun, Holt's Auctioneers will be offering these guns as consecutive Lots in their next sale in London in September.
"It is hoped that a courageous bidder will now make this happen!"
Estimate £15,000-20,000