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LOT 1020
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
4 1/2 in. (518 grams, 11.5 cm).
A piriform missile with domed filler-hole, raised lugs and impressed annulets to the body, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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'.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
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. 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1020
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
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Byzantine Gold Ring with Foliate Motifs
Circa 11th-12th century A.D.Estimate: £800 - 1,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £444
Comprising a flat-section hoop with a starburst motif to the base; openwork shoulders and a square bezel with a pellet to each corner, the bezel engraved with foliate motifs. 3.65 grams, 19.99 mm overall, 18.00 mm internal diameter (approximate size British L, USA 5 3/4, Europe 11.24, Japan 10)
Acquired from London galleries during the 1990s. From the jewellery collection of a London, UK, gentleman. Accompanied by a previous typed cataloguing card. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Some rings from the Balkan territories of the Eastern Empire (for example the ring from Dobrača) bear a square thickened bezel engraved with schematic representations. What sets them apart are the widened shoulders emphasised by a plastic rib and the raised and flattened head, which places them in the group of rings which dates mainly to the 11th century (from the end of the 10th to the first decades of the 12th century). -
Byzantine Lead Plaque with Menorah Inscribed by Jakob the Scribe
5th-6th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,120
Fish-shaped lead plaque with low-relief stamped panel, menorah and legend; impression from a wine amphora stamp, rectangular with a raised rim in the name of Jakob the Scribe: ΕΙΑ - ΚΟY / ΛΙΛ - ΕΒΑ (retrograde); seven-branched menorah between a shofar (right) and lulav (palm frond) and an etrog (yellow citron). 94 grams, 74 mm
From the collection of a London antiquarian, formed since the 1980s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
The first word is the name Iacobus' (Jakob) and the second word (Λιλεβα) is likely derived from the Latin libellarius (scribe or notary), which was borrowed by Hebrew as ‘לבלר ’ (‘liblar’).The latter term is closer in meaning to the medieval ‘clerk’, than to the typical Hebrew word for scribe, ‘סופר’ (‘sofer’). -
Byzantine Bronze Cross Pendant Group
10th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Two cruciform pendants comprising: one a reliquary fragment with nimbate figure; one curved with Corpus Christi. 19.5 grams total, 35-47 mm
Acquired since the late 1980s. Ex property of a European gentleman living in South Africa. Property of a Californian, USA, collector. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
