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LOT 1484
Byzantine Decorated Bronze Archer's Thumb Ring
10TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
1 3/8 in. (7.35 grams, 34.98 mm overall, 21,50 x 25.28 mm internal diameter (approximate size British Y 1/2, USA 12 1/4, Europe 28.2, Japan 27)).
With triangular flange to one edge, incised hatching. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a private Tyneside collection, formed since the early 2000s.
LiteratureCf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, items 545, 546, for type.
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
AUCTIONS:
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
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Piriform in profile with domed mouth; raised lugs to the body with impressed texture in between; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 719 grams, 14 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'.
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. -
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