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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
Estimate £80 - 100€93 - 116 (for guidance only)$108 - 135 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Roman Lead Slingshot of Quintus Sertorius
Circa 82-72 B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Bids: 3 | Current Bid: £20
Lentoid in form with raised legend to reverse 'Q.SERT / PRO C'; casting seam and flange. 59.6 grams, 37 mm
Acquired on the UK art market, early 2000s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian.
The inscription may refer to Quintus Sertorius, the Roman statesman and general (123-72 BC). In late 82 BC, Sertorius, linked to the party of populares of Gaius Marius, was proscribed by Sulla and forced from his province in Hispania. However, he soon returned in early 80 BC, representing himself as a Roman proconsul resisting the Sullan regime at Rome. Being Proconsul in this Hispania from 82 to 73 B.C., the slingshots of his army were bearing the inscription 'Q.SERT / PRO C' (Quintus Sertorius Proconsul). -
Celtic Iron Close-Socketted Long Axehead
Late Hallstatt-Early La Tene Period, circa 450 B.C.Estimate: £40 - 60 (+bp*)
Bids: 3 | Current Bid: £15
Slender axe with rectangular-section socket. 160 grams, 10.2 cm
Ex M. Spiegelberg collection, since 1989-1992; thence by descent. Accompanied by a copy of a previous yellow cataloguing slip. -
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Western Asiatic Polished Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
With slightly carinated equator to the globular body and tubular shaft. 377 grams, 91 mm
From the collection of North West London, UK, gentleman, early 2000s.
