Unbelievable engraving job.

Ornate translates to ugly I believe. Also the functionality of this vierling may be in question when the pi$$ed off leopard is five yards away....as in there`s a need to know under pressure which barrel is operational in a split second.

I would however like to know what breed of dog (?) did the engraver base his/her work on. I have no doubt that he/her is/was a locally based failed tradesperson from Kanha perhaps Ranthambore.
The work is akin to the quality exhibited in this wolf tattoo below.

four barrels.webp
I`m sure these pups are hybrid frogs.
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i see froglets
Ha! Funnily I was evenly split between seeing crabs or toads for the Rorschach blots under the Capitoline Wolf. As I felt labelling Romulus and his brother “toads” had an anti-Roman undertone, I supposed that my Italian brother-in-law would less object to his compatriots being described as crabs 🦀
 
It’s a nice detail that the dog wolf is semi rampant whilst the nursing bitch is stantant and the little crab things are dancing.
Romulus and Remus are those. Here's them across for the Hotel Cluny in Paris' Latin Quarter over from the Sorbonne.

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I've always held that a gun should either be absolutely plain except for maker's name and etc. (such as the Colt 1911 pistol) or fully covered and that ONLY shotguns. Pistols, revolvers and rifles should be plain. As to shotguns the engraving should be all over or none at all. Let form follow function. The worst of all is this half done or partial engraving that looks to all the world as if the owner or maker couldn't affod within the price to do the job properly.
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I don't know. I think a trickle of the burin helps this along quite nicely. Ironically, it's a picture of my "spare" Enfield.
 
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder I guess. However, for all the very talented and ornate engraving it doesn't make any rifle/gun shoot any better. In fact, you are more likely to not be shooting it. Don't want any scratches, just take the trusty Silver Pigeon out again.
 
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