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LOT 1577
Bactrian Silver Macehead with Interlaced Dragons
2ND-1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
7 7/8 in. (440 grams total, 20 cm including stand).
Hollow-formed with bulb finial, low-relief image of opposed dragons with detailed scale texture; circumferential band with incised guilloche below; rim chipped; mounted on a custom-made stand.
ProvenanceLondon, UK gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
Private collection, London, UK.
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Civil War Period Iron Cannon Ball Collection
17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Group of three rough-cast cannonballs for a saker-type cannon, each approximately five pounds in weight and three inches diameter. 7.14 kg total, 76-87 mm
Found Southwell, Nottinghamshire, circa 1975. -
Aramaic Inscribed Bronze Arrowhead for Zscha..., Son of Adnb
1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,105
Comprising a two-edged lentoid-section leaf-shaped blade and lozenge-section tang; each side with a short incised Aramaic inscription; ḥṣ zš bn ʾdnb = arrow of Zscha..., son of Adnb. 14 grams, 94 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Ovoid in profile with a rounded base, two incised circumferential bands above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 666 grams, 10 cm
From a specialist collection, London, UK, 1990-2000s. 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'.
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.
