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LOT 0793
Byzantine Bronze Bread Stamp Group
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/2 in. (40.8 grams total, 38 mm each).
Comprising: one sub-rectangular in form with Greek capital letters (Mi, Iota, Iota, Tau and Tau, Iota, Eta) in raised relief, suspension lug to reverse; a leaf-shaped stamp with lugs to the perimeter and three raised letters to the centre, suspension lug to reverse. [2]
ProvenanceAcquired before 2000.
From the collection of a European gentleman living in the UK.
Cf. for similar letters, a stamp published by Dalton, O.M., Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities and Objects from the Christian East in the Department of British and Medieval Antiquities and Ethnography of the British Museum, London, 1901, no.491.
FootnotesThe larger bronze stamps are generally known in the relevant literature as bread stamps. These were used on the bread consecrated during the Holy Liturgy and then given to the believers as the Body of Christ during the Holy Communion, as well as to the bread which was given as a present at the end of the Liturgy, as 'Blessed bread' or Antidoron. Similar seals are still used today in the Orthodox Church.
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LOT 0793
Byzantine Bronze Bread Stamp Group
Estimate £120 - 170€140 - 200 (for guidance only)$160 - 230 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine Inscribed Ceramic 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
Of piriform shape with raised inscription around the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 307 grams, 11.2 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
Byzantine Silver Architectural Ring
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £234
Composed of a broad hoop with gently chamfered upper and lower edge, openwork bezel with monogram to top; early Byzantine or Lombardic. 10.48 grams, 32.95 mm overall,18.10 mm internal diameter (approximate size British P 1/2, USA 7 3/4, Europe 16.26, Japan 16)
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
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Byzantine Marble Column Capital
Circa 6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £4,160
Rectangular in plan with ornament to all four faces; Side A: facing bust in a stepped square recess, with band of textured short hair, broad face with fleshy features, below this a severe undercut with median D-section column supporting the frame formed as openwork vine-leaves with couchant stag and fawn flanked by two panels of flowering creepers; Side B: facing female bust with band of straight hair, some remains of raised border, deep recessed vertical slot below; Side C: upper panel largely absent, undercut with D-section column of vine-leaves and bunch of grapes flanked by scrollwork; Side D: facing female bust with band of straight hair, remains of fluted border to one side, deep recessed vertical slot below; upper face with one large drilled socket and two smaller; mounted on a custom-made stand. 72.7 kg total, 58.5 cm high including stand
Ex UK art market. Acquired London in 2009. Ex central London gallery. Accompanied by an academic report by Prof. Neritan Ceka. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate no.202057.
The treatment of the hair on portraits with the hair combed straight and raised on the forehead, covering the ears, refers to the portraits of sculptures, mosaics, coins, or ivory plaques of Justinian period (527-568 A.D.) and namely to the portrait of Byzantine Empress Theodora (500-548 A.D.) in the Musei del Castello Sforzesco, Milan, Italy. The decorative sculpture of that period was relatively limited in the presentation of human portraits and our object takes on a special meaning in the framework of the anthropomorphic art of the early Byzantine period.
