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LOT 1547
Greek Lead Slingshot with Alpha
1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (30.9 grams, 33 mm).
Lenticular type with casting seam to the rim, raised iconic Greek letter A (alpha) on one side, and the other with raised pellets.
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. Schinco, G., Small, A.M., 'A previously unknown siege of Botromagno/Silvium: the evidence of slingshots from Gravina in Puglia (Provincia di Bari, Puglia)' in Papers of the British School at Rome, 2019, pp.1-52, fig.31,22 (type Volling IIb).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1547
Greek Lead Slingshot with Alpha
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£50 (EUR 58; USD 68) +BP*
-
Western Asiatic Polished Stone Macehead
3rd-2nd millennium B.C.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £44
With a globular body and a short cylindrical socket. 335 grams, 78 mm
From the collection of a London, UK, gentleman, 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Dagger
14th-10th century B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
Triangular blade with raised midrib and a rectangular-section tang. 130 grams, 31 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Large bulbous body with a domed filler-hole and two circumferential bands above the shoulder; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 715 grams, 12.3 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.
