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LOT 0207
Byzantine Silver Ring with Gilt Eagle
5TH-6TH CENTURY A.D.
1 in. (6.69 grams, 24.36 mm overall, 21.21 x 20.94 mm internal diameter (approximate size British W, USA 11, Europe 25, Japan 24)).
Disc bezel flanked by two bosses; gilt panel with low-relief eagle.
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Private collection, London, UK.
Cf. Chadour, A.B., Rings. The Alice and Louis Koch Collection, volume I, Leeds, 1994, item 488, for type.
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AUCTIONS:
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Property of a North American gentleman, London, UK, 1990-2010. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Piriform in profile with a domed filler hole, linear decoration; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 513 grams, 12.2 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. -
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