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LOT 1350
Byzantine Engraved Bone Spindle Whorl with Birds Below Canopy
CIRCA 8TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
5/8 in. (7.78 grams, 17.78 mm).
Barrel-shaped with incised ring-and-dot ornament forming an arcade.
ProvenanceEx Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
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 1350
Byzantine Engraved Bone Spindle Whorl with Birds Below Canopy
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant with Corpus Christi
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
A bifacial pendant with a nimbate figure in orans pose on one side and the other with Corpus Christi. 3.89 mm, 37mm
Acquired on the UK art market from the 1990s. From the private collection of a Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine Bronze Reliquary Cross Pendant Plate
Circa 10th-12th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
An enkolpion plate with hinge-loops, raised robed figure at the centre in orans pose. 23 grams, 77 mm
Acquired on the UK art market from the 1990s. From the private collection of a Lincolnshire, UK, gentleman. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Bulbous, undecorated body with flat base; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 660 grams, 10.4 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. 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.
