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LOT 1854
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 3/8 in. (700 grams, 13.8 cm).
Ovoid in profile with a domed tiered filler hole; 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'.
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 1854
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
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Western Asiatic Bronze Tanged Spearhead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Slender blade with raised midrib and rectangular-section tang with clubbed finial. 370 grams, 34 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
A certain number of similar blades, some considered to be spearheads and others to be daggers, all with bent tang, derived from Tepe Hissar Culture III. Some of them, like our specimen, have a button terminal, others have a plain, pointed terminal. The general dating of these specimens is fixed to the early 2nd millennium B.C. -
Viking Iron Bearded Axehead
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £247
With a slender blade, chin to the lower edge with a spur to the rear, round socket with rectangular flanges; traces of the original wooden shaft inside the socket. 600 grams, 16.5 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Luristan Bronze Socketted Axehead
2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £117
With a long D-shaped blade with a scooped profile and a tubular socket offset at the base. 313 grams, 16 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
Many examples of bronze axeheads are attributed to the Luristan culture and various shapes have been discussed by different scholars. Moorey (1971, pp.39-41) shows similar axeheads, stating that the texts executed on some specimens have shown them made of arsenical bronze, and attributes them to the late 3rd millennium B.C. or 2nd millennium B.C., period in which this alloy was used abundantly.
