A very rare wheel-lock carbine dating: third quarter of the 16th Century provenance: Nuremberg, Smoothbore, three-stage, 10 mm cal. barrel, deeply carved with spirals at the centre with rings at the girdles, octagonal base with sight groove, slightly bell-mouthed, octagonal nozzle with silver foresight; wheel-lock with flat plate, covered wheel and safety lock (missing spring), Nuremberg mark and the monogram 'GS' between hammer and glasses (GS for Georg Seidler); wooden full stock entirely decorated with bone tarsia, richly engraved with monsters, dragons, faces, hunting scenes and floral motifs; at the butt-plate an allegoric female figure (Prudence?) with hawk and snake, a shield at the counter-plate; iron mounts, anatomic trigger guard, adjustable trigger, carved belt hook; patchbox; ramrod with bone tip, replaced. Very small missings. The rare shape of the barrel and the unusual mounts (considering the construction date), such as the belt hook and the adjustable trigger, make this carbine extremely scarce. provenance: Eugen Nielsen Collection, Christie's Sale, London, March 31 1993, lot 247. length 74 cm.