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LOT 1496
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
5 3/4 in. (455 grams, 14.6 cm).
Piriform body with domed 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.
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 1496
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Ovoid body with pointed base and domed filler-hole, two circumferential bands above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 685 grams, 16 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. 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. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
Bulbous body with rounded base and domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 682 grams, 11.3 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s. 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. -
Medieval Iron Hand-and-Half Sword
14th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £2,340
Longsword of Oakeshott's Type XVIIIa or b, comprising: two-edged, slender lenticular-section piled blade with taper overall to a narrow point; quillons square in section with taper and slight droop to ends; flat-section tang tapering to the upper end; pommel of Oakshott's Type I1 with scooped border to each face, central panel. 873 grams, 99.5 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. Accompanied by an academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.13302-257654.
Examples of this category of swords show almost every kind of hilt used during the 15th century, from the classic forms of the 13th century to all the new varieties of pommel and cross which developed after 1400. Because the previous types of swords were practically useless against the fully armoured man-at-arms, Western European warfare needed a sword able to pierce the weak points of the protective equipment, a circumstance that led to the creation of types XV, XVI and XVII that found their quintessence in the type XVIII. The subtypes XVIIIa and XVIIIb had longer blades, and especially the type XVIIIb was a very long-gripped bastard sword.
