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LOT 1371
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 3/4 in. (829 grams, 14.6 cm).
A ceramic missile, piriform in profile with band of impressed rings to the equator and larger ring-and-dot motifs beneath, domed filler-hole above, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a military inspired collection formed from the 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'.
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 1371
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
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Medieval Bronze Macehead
Circa 12th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Spherical in profile with very broad vertical socket, lattice-pattern to the sidewall forming low studs. 262 grams, 50 mm
Private collection, Arundel, West Sussex, UK, 1975-late 1990s. -
Luristan Bronze Tanged Arrowhead
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With broad heater-shaped head and barbs to the rear, square shoulder and narrow tang. 41.6 grams, 13.5 cm
Property of the vendor's grandfather, thence by family descent, circa 1985. From the private collection of a New York, USA gentleman.
The arrowhead resembles a stylised bird's head, according to classification by Khorasani. This was a type of decorative arrowheads, belonging to the typology of barbed arrowheads. -
Large Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A spherical ceramic missile with incised swirls to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 947 grams, 14.1 cm
From a military inspired collection formed from the 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.
