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Auction Highlights:

Sold for (Inc. bp): £23,400
Sold for (Inc. bp): £31,200
Sold for (Inc. bp): £48,100
Sold for (Inc. bp): £15,600
Sold for (Inc. bp): £46,800
Lot No. 1387
1
Sold for (Inc. bp): £13
Comprising a broad scaphoid blade and bolster to the neck, round-section tang. 36.8 grams, 16.5 cm

Acquired York Antiques, Yorkshire, UK, in 2012.
Property of a Kent lady collector.

Accompanied by an original certificate of authenticity signed by Garry Edwards.

Piriform body with segmented shoulder and impressed roundels, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 420 grams, 10.8 cm

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.

Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.

Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Piriform body with band of impressed roundels to the equator, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 564 grams, 11.3 cm

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.

Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.

Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Lot No. 1390
7
Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Comprising: square-section missile head with short neck; conical ferrule with square-section finial; conical ferrule socket with long square-section finial. 64 grams total, 8.2-12.8 cm

Found S.E. England, UK.
Acquired from Allan Cherry, Bournemouth, UK, circa 2004.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.

Cf. for the ferrule Marchant, D.J., Roman weaponry in the province of Britain from the second century to the fifth century AD, Durham, 1991, plate 14, nos.3-4; for the javelin head fig.15, no.1.

The usual form of the butt of the spears in this period was a cone shape, sometimes split down one side, but more often forged into a complete circle. The butt was fastened to the wooden shaft by one or more rivets. The butt or ferrule of the Roman spears essentially had two functions. Firstly it acted as a counterweight to the blade of the spear/javelin, ensuring that the weapon was balanced and therefore effective. Secondly, it kept the wooden shaft out of contact with the ground if the spear was grounded and thus avoiding damage to it.
Piriform body with impressed panels and roundels to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 415 grams, 10.7 cm

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.

Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.

Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Comprising: a Martini-Henry brass cartridge case with firing mark to the base; three lead heads of bullets fired from the Martini-Henry rifle; mounted in a display frame; supplied with brass nameplate 'Anglo-Zulu War / Khambula / March 29th 1879'. 332 grams total, 30-37 mm (13 x 13.5 cm including case)

Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK, formed since 1985.

Accompanied by a handwritten provenance note.

Lot No. 1393
8
Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Lentoid-section broad leaf-shaped blade with thick neck and split socket; Swanton's Group D1. 215 grams, 24.4 cm

Found near Wetwang, East Yorkshire, UK.
Acquired circa 2005.
Ian Wilkinson collection, Nottinghamshire, UK.

Cf. Swanton, M.J., Spearheads of the Anglo-Saxon Settlements, London, 1973, fig.18(c).

Exhibited at Harwich Museum, Harwich, Essex, UK, 14th March-9th June 2024; accompanied by a copy of a photograph of the artefact on display.

The chronological range of the type D1 extends over the entire Pagan period. With the group C1, of which Swanton believed this might simply be a long-socketted variant, the typology did not survive the 7th century A.D.
Lot No. 1394
6
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
With geometric design on a hatched background and discoid pad to rear. 7.31 grams, 26.60 mm overall, 22.48 mm internal diameter (approximate size British X 1/2 , USA 11 3/4, Europe 26.92, Japan 25)

Acquired in the 1990s.
Ex Private collection, Suffolk, UK.
Property of a Kent lady collector.

Cf. Bikic, V., Beyond the Jewellery: Archer’s Rings in the Medieval Balkans (14th-15th centuries) in Bosselmann-Ruickbie, A. (ed.), New Research on Late Byzantine Goldsmiths’ Works (13th-15th Centuries), Mainz, 2019, figs.5, 6, 7.

Piriform body with lattice to upper body and impressed bands to shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 644 grams, 12.8 cm

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.

Accompanied by an academic paper by military specialist Dr Raffaele D'Amato, dated 15 July 2019 and titled 'Eastern Roman Empire - Greek Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade (μεσαίον kακάβιον) 9th-11th century AD'.

Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.

Apart from the use of siphons or manual flame-throwers called cheirosiphona, special corps of Roman soldiers employed terracotta grenades, in the form of small jars, abundantly evidenced in archaeological excavations. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
Lot No. 1399
8
Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Hollow-formed with a collared socket; two rows of tear-shaped bosses to the bulbous body. 205 grams, 61 mm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

Lot No. 1400
4
Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Comprising an ovoid body with a rectangular void to accept a strap; the lower section broad with a rib to the underside, the upper flat in section with silver inlay in geometric forms to one face. 244 grams, 16 cm

From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.

Cf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, grave 735, for type.

Lot No. 1401
2
Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Including barbed, leaf-shaped and other types, all tanged. 196 grams total, 13-17.7 cm

Acquired 1980-2015.
Ex Abelita family collection.

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