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LOT 1555
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 7/8 in. (455 grams, 15 cm).
Piriform, 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 1555
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £72
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North Western Persian Bronze Blade
Early 1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £169
With a long tapering blade, rounded shoulders, broad flattened mid-rib, and a tapering square-section tang. 311 grams, 37.7 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
Edged weapons with tangs are among the simplest forms of weapons from this culture. This basic type was hardly altered in the period when bronze was the most important material in weapon production. The retention of this basic type with so few alterations makes precise dating challenging. Bronze daggers, dirks and swords exist today only as bronze blades, having lost their perishable handles over the course of time. -
Luristan Bronze Dagger
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Blade with a shallow median rib, crescentic pennannular guard, handle with pommel in the shape of a nail head. 151 grams, 30.5 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
This is a type of blade rare among Luristan weapons. The simplest type that appeared to J. de Morgan and Godard in the first excavations of Luristan looked like this: a blade always featuring a median groove, a guard decorated with a crescent, and a round hilt with a nail-shaped head. The hilt was usually filled with organic material, such as wood, bone, or ivory. -
Civil War Period Iron Cannon Ball Collection
17th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
Group of three rough-cast cannonballs for a saker-type cannon, each approximately five pounds in weight and three inches diameter. 7.14 kg total, 76-87 mm
Found Southwell, Nottinghamshire, circa 1975.
