Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade

Portrayed in active pose with mantle drawn tight around the body, nimbus to the head. 4.17 grams, 23 mm



From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.

Piriform body with impressed roundels to the equator, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 1.42 kg, 17 cm



From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 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.

Openwork finial formed as a miniature church comprising a square base with four stub feet, sidewalls each with a keyhole-shaped arch, upper storey cruciform in plan with radiating porticus ending in a tongue-shaped facade and loophole aperture; above, a tubular tower with loophole windows; flanged upper face with slot. 368 grams, 11.2 cm



Acquired in the mid 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of Mr S.A., Switzerland, thence by descent. Private collection since the late 1990s.

This object reproduces a building of three levels: it belongs to a processional pole which supported a Byzantine bronze cross, the lower end of which fitted into the slot visible on the top of the drum. This object, which remains above all a decorative element, recalls by its structure a Byzantine church with its cross-shaped plan: architectural models reproducing religious buildings were very appreciated by Byzantine craftsmen (especially in the capital Constantinople), who used these structures to produce not only the cross holders but also the reliquaries, host boxes, or censers. Originally, this construction was supported by four columns of which only the capitals and a few fragments of the shaft remain. The presentation and demonstration of a cross to the faithful could take place during different celebrations of the Christian liturgical calendar, or even during certain civil ceremonies, or taking place in a princely court.