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LOT 1408
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
4 1/2 in. (444 grams, 11.3 cm).
Piriform body with impressed ribs to the equator, band of roundels to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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'.
Cf. 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 Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.
FootnotesApart 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1408
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
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Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Group
Circa 13th-7th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
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Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
Viking Sword with Inlaid Cross and Orb Mark
Circa 10th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,900
With three-lobe pommel and decorated guard; the blade 45mm wide at the upper end, gently tapering with fuller to both faces, rounded tip, indented ring to one face with silver inlay, scaphoid-section lower guard with two rows of shallow pellets to each face gilt or latten inlay; flat tapering tang; pommel of Petersen's Type S with traces of vertical inlaid wire. 752 grams, 93 cm
From the family collection of a London gentleman; formed in the late 1940s-1950s; thence by descent. Accompanied by metallurgic analytical report number 114366/569, written by metallurgist Dr Brian Gilmour of the Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford. 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 a search certificate number no.12020-214090. -
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15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
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Tucker collection, Buckinghamshire, UK; formed in the 1980s. Property of a Kent lady collector.
