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LOT 1025
Byzantine Gold Filigree Heart-Shaped Pendant
5TH-7TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (2.92 grams, 24 mm).
Hollow with three filigree circles to the underside each with scrolled filigree fill, pierced sidewall, three openwork filigree domes to the obverse with granules and a tubular cell to the apex of the lower one.
ProvenanceEx property of a late Japanese collector, 1970s-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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Byzantine Bronze Artefact Collection
6th century A.D. or laterSold for (Inc. bp): £104
Mainly comprising ornamental buckles and mounts, including openwork and zoomorphic examples. 115 grams total, 28-71 mm
Acquired in London in 1982. Property of a central London gentleman. -
Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant with Overlapping Bars
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
With pierced polyhedral upper and knop above, body formed as two intersecting fusiform bars with recess. 32.8 grams, 66 mm
Belgian collection, 1980s. From the collection of an London antiquarian. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
Piriform body decorated from concentric circles, with domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 1.01 kg, 15 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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.