Well..............since the forum lends itself to discussion, I'm going to respectfully disagree with previous assessments of this engraving.
First, there's some confusion in the Hallowell description of "mythical creatures". There aren't any. There's an eagle, a wolf's head, and a lion's head. The lion's head having some humanistic character....especially the nose. In Hallowell's listing on GunsInternational they further describe the grip cap as being "in the manner of Rudolph Kornbrath". I guess I don't have much problem believing all of this this to be Kornbrath's work. In E.C. Prudomme's book there is a Ballard action in the Kornbrath section that is similar full-coverage engraving.........different animals and different scroll.........but layout and use of space are very much the same.
When I look at the side panels of the low wall......there is a plain double border that frames the panel. There are four different "scroll" elements that tie this space together. Starting at the front there is the eagle in scroll fashion....two scroll elements that transition to the smaller wolf's head scroll element......the branch with berries in the eagle's claw and the eagle's tail feathers. The narrow end of the panel is terminated with a leaf scroll. A pinwheel rosette fills the area of the panel projection below the eagle's head. This is superb layout and executed well, regardless whether the subjects of the engraving satisfy a personal taste. Also the beaded background is excellent. The feathers on the eagle are great, the skulls on both eagle and wolf have a nice relief effect. This is the work of a really good engraver, and certainly has elements of Kornbrath's work.
When I inspect my own rifle with Kornbrath engraving, I'm amazed at how the work looks when held at arm's length.......where the effect of the engraving is designed to be viewed.........and how it looks under a magnifying lens (or closeup photography). What looks symetrical and balanced when viewed at normal distance.....isn't when closely inspected. This work was done with a graver and chaser's hammer. It wasn't accomplished with a hand-held pneaumatic tool under a microscope. We sometimes lose perspective when we view current work done by a Roger Kehr or Eric Gold. Naming only those two because their work is freely shown on formus like this one for our viewing pleasure.
I've no more opinion whether this is Kornbrath engraving than the seller, but I certainly believe it's in keeping with the type of work he did..........and the era he worked in.
I like it.
