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TULA
A RARE AND HISTORIC 12-BORE "RUSSIAN PURDEY" SELF-OPENING SIDELOCK EJECTOR GUN, NO. 7340, PRESENTED TO HAROLD MACMILLAN BY PRESIDENT KHRUSHCHEV ON HIS HISTORIC VISIT IN 1959
29 3/8-inch chopper-lump barrels with 2 3/4-inch chambers, about full and extra full choke borings, mid extension, the breeches lined with gold, solid machined rib, the frame, locks and top lever with bouquet and scroll engraving and retaining all of their original hardening colour, with further outline gold inlaid detail, the date "1957" inlaid on the action base, the fences carved with further scrollwork, gold cocking indicators, articulated front trigger, 14 1/2-inch figured stock with inset gold plaque bearing presentation inscription, 7lb. 9oz., Russian nitro proof, in its maker's presentation case with leather outer cover
The gun appears unused. Built to Purdey specification by the state Tula Armoury, the gun is one of a limited number produced for high ranking officials and presentation to overseas leaders.
The gun was presented to Prime Minister Harold Macmillan by Nikita Khrushchev during the historic 1959 visit to Moscow at the height of the Cold War. It is of superb quality and is exquisitely finished with a presentation gold plaque set in to the stock and it remains unused in its original presentation case. It has remained in the family ever since.
During a period of extreme tension between the East and the West, the visit was remarkable as it was the first visit of a major Western leader to the USSR since the Second World War. Harold Macmillan was committed to curbing the arms race and played a major role in negotiating the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty of 1963, the first important treaty signed between the US, USSR and Britain since the end of the Second World War. |
Sold for £18000
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| Fine Modern and Vintage Sporting Guns |
| Sotheby's, New Bond Street, London |
| 17 April 2013 |
| Commission is 25% ex. VAT. Artist's Resale Right may apply |
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