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LOT 1383
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
4 1/4 in. (472 grams, 10.7 cm).
With broad shoulder, short neck, domed square-shaped lip and conical base, broad medial band, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 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'.
See Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefasse aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16; Raimondo, C., 'Un deposito di granate dal castrum bizantino di Santa Maria del Mare (Catanzaro)' in Mélanges de l'Ecole française de Rome. Moyen-Age, tome 112, n°1, Roma, 2000, pp. 305-310.
FootnotesThe effectiveness of these grenades was much lower than the fire liquid thrown by the siphons. They were thrown by hand as it is evident by the presence of some sort of handle on the body of some of them to better allow the grip of the object (Raimondo, 2000 Plate 11a; fig. 4, c-d). Nothing excludes that they were also launched at more long distance with catapults or other war engines. The presence of a fuse for triggering the explosion is evidenced by the narrow mouth of the largest part of the grenades.
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LOT 1383
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £221
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Medieval Iron Arrowhead
Circa 14th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £59
Composed of a rectangular-section tip with a single barb, twisted shank and a tubular socket with a single piercing. 7.85 grams, 12 cm
Found Norfolk, UK. -
Viking Age Sword with Engraved Mammen Style Hilt
8th-9th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £6,500
Pattern-welded, double-edged tapering blade with a tapering tang; the boat-shaped lower guard, pommel, and upper guard decorated in Mammen Style with silver inlay; professionally conserved. 955 grams, 90.5 cm
Some light pitting in evidence along with minor edge loss, some delamination visible on the blade’s surface; professionally treated and preserved according to Museum’s standard.
From the Bornhauser collections. Ex A. Green private collection. Ex Balticum. with Army of Tennessee Relics, Knoxville, USA. Accompanied by an Army of Tennessee certificate of authenticity dated 5th October 2017. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D’Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.12021-214091.
This beautiful Viking sword (probably a river find) shows engraved decoration in Mammen style (700-800 A.D.) and is an early type A according to the Petersen’s typology and classification. This category of swords evolved from the swords of the Vendel Period in Scandinavia, especially from the Swedish ones. Petersen originally individuated eight examples of this sword’s typology, one of the first categories of Viking swords, although these swords were also widely used in the Carolingian Empire. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Piriform body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 580 grams, 12.5 cm
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent. 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
