Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant

With splayed end to each arm and integral loop; pointillé motifs to both faces. 7.58 grams, 44 mm



Ex German art market, 2000s. Acquired from an EU collector living in London. From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

With knop handle and applied beaded wire collar, ellipsoid plaque with incuse image of two nimbate figures flanking a hatched panel and two bovines above; probably a Nativity scene with Mary and Joseph beside the manger in the stable with oxen. 5.1 grams, 16 mm



Acquired in 1993. Private collection, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Piriform in profile with domed mouth; four raised lugs to the body with incised hatching in between; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 571 grams, 14.4 cm



From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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.