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LOT 1138
Byzantine Ceramic 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 in. (613 grams, 17 cm).
Composed of a piriform body with 'feather' design and eccentrically placed domed mouth; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, and used as a hand grenade; chipped foot. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceCollected before 1970.
Ex gallery of C.M., UK.
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'.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefasse aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16. 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.
FootnotesApart 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.
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LOT 1138
Byzantine Ceramic 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £163
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Greek Bronze Arrowhead Group
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Primarily composed of socketted types with triangular cross-sections. 198 grams total, 26-43 mm
Ex private collection, 1980s. Acquired on the UK art market in the 1990s. -
Post Medieval Iron Axehead with Maker's Marks
16th-17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £7
Stamped to one cheek; triangular socket, hammer-shaped back. 2.1 kg, 23 cm
Acquired 1990s-early 2000s. East Anglian private collection. -
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English Medieval Iron Kidney Dagger
Late 15th-early 16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Comprising a single-edged blade, whittle tang and cylindrical grip terminating in a bulbous openwork pommel. 178 grams, 31 cm
Acquired 1960s-1990s. Late Alison Barker collection, a retired London barrister.
Carried universally throughout Europe, the kidney dagger or ballock dagger (dague a rognons) seems to have been used by all classes of society. Early effigies and brasses prove that the ballock dagger was a knightly weapon. Later on, the more elaborate daggers suggest that it was also a weapon of the emerging merchant and artisan classes. Of course there are also some very simple and crude examples which would probably have been used by the peasants.
