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LOT 1457
Byzantine Decorated Bronze Archer's Thumb Ring
5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 1/8 in. (2.92 grams, 28.41 mm overall, 17.62 x 16.16 mm internal diameter (approximate size British M, USA 6, Europe 12.46, Japan 12)).
With horizontal ribbing, triangular flange extension with hatched detailing. [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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Medieval Iron Flail Head
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Biconvex in profile with loop and ring, segmented surface. 277 grams, 50 mm
From the family collection of a London gentleman; formed in the late 1940s-1950s; thence by descent. From the property of a late Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
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. -
Western Asiatic Integral Hilted Bronze Short Sword
Late 3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With a broad, lentoid-section flat blade, rounded tip, sloping sides, well marked shoulders with wide but short tang. 713 grams, 43.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The sword finds similarity with a one from the Royal Cemetery of Ur. This is the most primitive form of dagger, consisting of a simple, pointed blade having slightly convex outline shoulders sloping to a short tang which has no rivets, and was probably hafted to wood with bitumen.
