LOT 1459

Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade

9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.

4 1/4 in. (415 grams, 10.7 cm).

Piriform body with impressed panels and roundels to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.
From the private collection of John Meredith, acquired since the 1990s; thence by descent.

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.