Culture Minister, Margaret Hodge, has placed a temporary export bar on a silver-mounted long-gun made by English gunsmith Henry Crisp and bearing London silver hallmarks for 1688.  This will provide a last chance to raise the money to keep the gun in the United Kingdom.

The Minister's ruling follows a recommendation by the Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, administered by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council. The Committee recommended that the export decision be deferred on the grounds that the gun is of outstanding significance for the study of English gun making, silversmithing and decorative art in general.

The gun carries an inscription which indicates it was given away by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, who commanded the Tangier Expedition in 1683. It is the earliest known English silver-mounted long-gun in existence and carries the earliest recorded English silver hallmark on a long-gun. Made by Henry Crisp, Gunmaker, Ordnance and Furbisher to the Tower from 1680 to 1707, this gun is also highly unusual in that it has been built around an earlier, Turkish, gun barrel. Turkish barrels at this time were generally recognised as being amongst the finest in the world and use of such a barrel in an English gun is both of enormous historical interest and indicative of the quality of the piece.

Lord Inglewood, Chairman of the Reviewing Committee, said: "This is a rare and romantic survival from a little known but important chapter of our seventeenth century history which resonates on a number of different levels of appreciation".

This firearm was commissioned from one of the very few top-quality English gunsmiths of the day, Henry Crisp, by George Legge, 1st Baron Dartmouth, who was a key supporter and friend of King James II, as well as being commander-in-chief of the Royal Navy in 1688 when William of Orange was about to invade. He died in the Tower of London in 1691. Henry Crisp was apprenticed to Humphrey Pye in 1676 and registered his mark in 1677. He was gunmaker, Ordnance and Furbisher to the Tower from 1680 to 1707. He died in 1710.

The gun's construction incorporates the earliest known example of the use of silver in the mounting and decoration of firearms in England and carries the earliest recorded English silver hallmark of any firearm known. Is also highly unusual in that it has been built around an earlier, Turkish, gun barrel.  Turkish barrels at this time were generally recognised as being amongst the finest in the world and the use of such a barrel in an English gun is both of enormous historical interest and also indicative of the quality of the piece. The fact that the maker inscribed it with a rhyming couplet is highly unusual and evocative, showing both Crisp's sense of humour and his pride in his own craftsmanship: The Barrel Made By Moore or Turk; Crisp Made Ye Rest All English Work.

The decision on the export licence application for the gun will be deferred for a period ending on 23 October 2007 inclusive. This period may be extended until 23 January 2008 inclusive if a serious intention to raise funds with a view to making an offer to purchase the gun at the recommended price of £115,000 is expressed.

Anyone interested in making an offer to purchase the gun should contact the owner's agent through: The Secretary, The Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Victoria House, Southampton Row, London, WC1B 4EA.

Last Updated ( Monday, 27 August 2007 )