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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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LOT 1457
Byzantine Decorated Bronze Archer's Thumb Ring
Sold for (Inc. bp): £26
-
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Mainly barbed and tanged types of slender profile. 287 grams total, 6.2-17.7 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Mesopotamian Mottled Cream Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With plain globular body, wide tubular shaft. 416 grams, 81 mm
Ex 1990s collection and with a central London gallery. -
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Piriform in profile with domed mouth and stepped neck, raised vertical lugs on the body, linear decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 464 grams, 14 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards.
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.
