Original German 18 Bore Flintlock Fowling Piece by Johann Schifter of Neustadt with Spanish Barrel - Circa 1720
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Original Item: One of a Kind. Here we have a fantastic early 18th Century German fowling Piece, made by maker Johann Schifter of Neustadt, and fitted with a beautiful Spanish two stage round to octagon barrel. We have found some other examples of his work, and he made higher end fowling pieces, and the wonderful reference book series Der Neue Stockel by Eugene Heer indicates that he worked from 1710-1730. The fowler is truly a work of art featuring a fantastic stock with carvings around all of the fittings, and on both sides of the butt stock. It also features highly decorated all bras mountings, many of which are also perforated, exhibiting an extremely high level of artistry. It is even fitted with an old leather sling, though we have no idea if it is original, or a replacement from sometime in the past 300+ years. As often seen with German arms, the front is attached to a sling swivel, while the rear is held directly to the stock by a large flathead screw.
The fowler is in 18 bore, a popular size for fowling, and features a 44 inch long Spanish barrel, with an overall length of 59 inches. The lock is marked behind the hammer with IO SCHIFTER, with NEVSTATT on the inside of the frizzen spring. These are "latinized" versions, where "J" would be replaced by an "I", as often seen during this period. The top facet of the barrel bears a typical Spanish punzón touchmark on the barrel, highlighted in gold, however it is unfortunately no longer legible due to oxidation of the steel underneath. There is the typical slight flaring towards the muzzle seen on Spanish barrels, and the front sight is attached by an X-pattern of inlay. The rear sight is a large trough in the barrel strap. We checked the lock functionality, and it works, but will fire at both full and half cock due to wear.
The metalwork has a lovely aged patina on the barrel, while the lock has been polished and cleaned to show the engraved hunting scenes under the pan and on the tail. There are additional hunting motifs on the brass fittings. The brass fittings have a lovely mellow patina, and do not show any excessive wear from cleaning like we often see. The stock is in lovely condition, showing some wear from years of cleaning, but it still looks great. The horn nose cap is still intact, and the carved embellishments around the fittings are mostly intact. We did notice that there is a crack near the rear lock screw running to the breech, which is a very common place to see these. There also is some cracking and a wood graft and a repair on the front right of the stock, measuring about six inches long. The underside of the barrel has a lovely bras fit wooden cleaning rod in place, though we believe it is a later replacement.
This is a truly lovely German Flintlock fowling piece with fantastic display potential, ripe for further research!
Specifications-
Year of Manufacture: circa 1720
Caliber: 0.640" = 18 gauge / bore
Cartridge Type: Powder with Shot
Barrel Length: 44 Inches
Overall Length: 59 Inches
Action type: Side Action Flintlock
Feed System: Muzzle Loaded
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