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LOT 1111
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 in. (484 grams, 12.5 cm).
Piriform in profile with an undecorated body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a specialist collection, London, UK, 1990-2000s.
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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LOT 1111
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
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Byzantine Bronze Empress Mount
5th-6th century A.D.Estimate: £1,000 - 1,400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £500
Formed in the half-round as a youthful female bust, a cross in the middle of the high hair arrangement (propoloma). 192 grams, 97 mm
Ex law professor in Alexandria, prior to 1930. Ex collection of M. Bouvier, Switzerland (1901-1980). Private collection, UK.
The image of the Roman empress during the late Roman Empire was connected to Christianity by the figure of the Empress Helena. Constantine had several cities renamed Helenopolis in honour of his mother, Helena, and she gained the political verification of power with the status nobilissima femina in 318 A.D. and the rank of Augusta in 324 A.D. Alongside her social and political image, Helena also had a significant reputation as a good Christian who was a patron and took care of poor people. Owing to this powerful religious image that was created, all other Christian women during the Eastern Roman Empire were encouraged spiritually by the fact that Helena was the mother of the first Christian emperor, and the image of the Roman empress was connected to the Christian image of the Mother of God, and represented on weights, bronze appliques and, in this case, maybe as an upper mount of a tripod. -
Byzantine Gold Cross Pendant
5th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,080
Sheet-gold with integral suspension loop, five large bosses, each within an encircling ring and four smaller bosses in the spandrels assembled into a cross; a marriage. 3.73 grams, 36 mm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Private collection, London, UK. -
Byzantine Bronze Ring with Saints
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Comprising a D-section hoop and a hexagonal bezel with two stylised figures flanking a cross. 5.33 grams, 25.53 mm overall, 21.73 mm internal diameter (approximate size British O 1/2, USA 7 1/4, Europe 15.61, Japan 15)
Acquired on the UK and EU art market before 2000. From the private collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
The bronze ring is compactly worked from a single bar. The ring link, hemispherical in section, broadens at the top, where the ring bezel was hammered. The decoration inscribed in the hexagon shows in the upper field a military saint, surrounded by lines running parallel to the hexagon, which form a further decorative element. The bezel of these rings was decorated with stylised images, very often military saints, who were asked for protection and blessing. They are usually represented as one or two human figures, schematically depicted, inscribed in a circle, decorating the bezel.
