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LOT 1504
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/8 in. (756 grams, 15.5 cm).
Piriform in profile with narrow point and domed mouth; radiating line decoration to the upper body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and 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.
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 1504
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
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Greek Period High Quality Large Bronze Arrowhead Collection
5th-3rd century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Socketted with leaf-shaped, triangular-section, barbed and other types. 49 grams total, 30-47 mm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger Blade Collection
2200-600 century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Comprising four triangular and leaf-shaped blades, one with pierced tang with rivet hole and one pierced through the shoulders with two rivet holes; an arrowhead with strong mid-rib, short tang and narrow foliate blade. 321 grams total, 15-24.5 cm
Ex London art market, 1980-1990s. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Some of the daggers represent one of the earliest form of the tangless round-heeled dagger, and the smaller examples were used as knives. Small tanged blades without a rivet, which have sometimes been identified as spearheads, are knives, while the riveted form could be used as a dagger or for domestic purposes. -
Large Luristan Socketted Bronze Adze
2nd-early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £468
An adze-axe head with central shaft hole and curved blades, flange to socket. 570 grams, 16.5 cm
Acquired in the 1990s. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
The adze-axe was a fundamental weapon of many Bronze Age cultures around the world. The form lends itself to dual purposes - for war and peace. As a tool, it functions in fabricating wood and as a weapon, its heavy mass and compact form make it a deadly striking and chopping weapon, even able to defeat light armour.
