Hunting rifle of the Kangxi Emperor (1662—1722) Detail

The Qianlong Emperor (1711–1799) took his place on the throne and wanted to pay tribute to his grandfather, the Kangxi Emperor (1654–1722), remembering that he once saw him kill two big cats with this impressive musket during an extravagant day of hunting, organized for the whole court to attend. He thus christened this weapon Spirit of the Tiger, as proven by the long dedicatory inscription in silver characters in both Chinese and Manchu, stamped across the butt.
To add to the pomp of this weapon, the fork is made in the form of antelope horns, while the butt plate was cut from a block of white jade.