Spanish Rifle (musket) - Spain, Second Half Of The 18th Century, Modified First Half Of The 19th Century

Spanish Musket - Spain, second half of the 18th century, modified in the first half of the 19th century. The lock plate is originally flintlock, converted to percussion in the first half of the 19th century. The mechanism is functional; however, the trigger no longer fires the percussion cap. If you cock the hammer, you will need to unscrew the lock plate to manually activate the percussion cap. The barrel has a breech face engraved with gold damascened scrolls and maker's marks, then is round to the muzzle. The maker's mark reads: P. CAVII(?) A. The lock plate, side plate, and trigger guard display superb engraving. Wooden stock decorated on one side with a silver triton (or chimeric animal) (the tail is missing). Original wooden ramrod (the tip is missing). Minor damage to the wood and oxidation of the steel, otherwise in good condition for its age. A very similar example is preserved and exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, see link below: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/22626 Length: 118.5 cm Barrel length: 82 cm Muzzle diameter: 18 mm Weight: 2340 g