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LOT 1053
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
14TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
3/4 in. (3.23 grams, 20.48 mm overall, 18.01 mm internal diameter (approximate size British N 1/2, USA 6 3/4, Europe 14..35, Japan 13)).
Comprising a slender hoop with gently expanding shoulders, an oval bezel with a stylised standing figure holding a spear. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000.
From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Цуњак, М., Марковић-Николић, Љ., Античке и средњовековне некрополе Смедерева (Ancient and Medieval Necropolises of Smederevo, in Serbian), Смедерево, 1997, p.94, for the type of ring.
FootnotesThese kind of rings, possibly signet rings, find their parallels with artefacts from Eastern Europe, especially in the area of Smederevo. Comparison elements allow us to propose a 14th-15th A.D. date. In the Orthodox world, military saints were common representations, although engraved simplistically.
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Byzantine Lead Pendant with Simeon Stylites
12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £715
Discoid with integral loop, tondo with figural scene of Simeon Stylites standing on his column, two worshippers at the base and two angels above; legend to the rim. 22 grams, 48 mm
Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. Private collection, Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection, since the late 1990s. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Warrior Saint
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
D-section hoop with angled shoulders, hexagonal bezel with a stylised warrior holding a long spear and a shield. 3.78 grams, 22.01 mm overall, 18.76 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Q 1/2, USA 8 1/4, Europe 18.12, Japan 17)
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
This category of rings had a hexagonal-rounded chaton raised above the link. Conforming to the iconography of the Orthodox countries under the influence of Byzantium, the possible decoration was related to the military saints. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Piriform in profile with an undecorated body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 484 grams, 12.5 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.
