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LOT 1402
Eastern Viking Period Iron Bearded Axe-Hammer
CIRCA 11TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
9 in. (427 grams, 23 cm).
With a narrow straight bearded blade enlarged in the lower side, rounded hammer-section shank to the rear. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx private North American collection, California, USA, 1970s-1990s.
LiteratureCf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, plate LII, item 15.
FootnotesThe more commonly used weapons of the Finno-Ugrian people were axes, commonly found in all Finnic areas, as well as spears. Iron axeheads of this typology show a sub-trapezoidal asymmetrical blade.
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Piriform body with domed filler-hole, the upper body decorated with vertical rows of pellets separated by deep grooves; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 444 grams, 10.2 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 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. -
Luristan Bronze Arrowhead Collection
Circa 1000 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £111
Each with an elongated, triangular shape with barbed shoulders, raised midrib and quadrangular spiked tang. 84 grams total, 8-11.2 cm
UK private collection before 2000. Acquired on the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
This type of arrowhead came in different varieties and sizes: some of them have barbed shoulders, some rounded shoulders, but both the types had a raised midrib. -
Medieval Iron Caltrop Anti-Cavalry Group
13th-15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
A group of ten iron anti-cavalry caltrops, hand-forged with square-section spikes. 599 grams total, 77-96 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
P. Žákovský has been able to classify medieval caltrops, mainly from the 13th to 15th century A.D., on the basis of their morphology, into four main typologies, each with different variants. Caltrops with single-pointed spikes, whose interpretation, however, is often ambiguous belong to type I. The other three types represent classic four-pointed caltrops, and individual types in this group differ from one another just in their cross-section.
