Byzantine Bronze Signet Ring with Niello Cross

Sub-rectangular in form with three polished faces; old handwritten label to one side reading 'Stone from Golden Gate Jerusalem July 1861'. 165 grams, 66 mm



Found Jerusalem in July 1861. UK private collection. Property of a Nottinghamshire gentleman. With a late 19th century handwritten identification label attached.

The Golden Gate, so called in Christian literature, or She'ar Harahamim ('Gate of Mercy') is the oldest of the city gates of the Old City of Jerusalem. It is located on the eastern side of the ancient city walls and it is believed that the meeting at the Golden Gate of Saint Joachim and Saint Anne took place there, an episode depicted in various pictorial cycles dedicated to the life of Saint Anne (including the one by Giotto in the Scrovegni chapel in Padua). The current gate was probably built on the ruins of the older one, in the 6th century A.D., as part of Justinian's building program. According to another theory, the construction took place at the end of the 7th century, by Roman craftsmen hired by the Umayyad caliphs.

Piriform body with domed filler-hole, decorated with floral pattern on the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 145 grams, 77 mm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family 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. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.

Articulated enkolpion with loop; low-relief robed figure to each face in orans pose with legend above 'ΟΑΓΗΟC / NΑΠ[.]ΔΗC' (Saint ...) and ΟΑΓΗΟCΓ/ΗΟΡΓΗC (Saint George). 51 grams, 97 mm



Acquired on the German art market before 2000. From an EU collection before 2020.