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LOT 1546
Greek Lead Slingshot with Inscription
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/8 in. (39.1 grams, 29 mm).
Lenticular type with casting seam to the rim, raised legend 'ΛΥΣΙΑ' (commander's name, Lisia) on one side. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
Cf. for a similar bullet (different inscription) Tsaravopoulos, A., ‘Evidence of war in a Pirates ’City of the Hellenistic Period (Island Antikythera/Aigilia Greece)’ in Sirbu, V., Schuster, C., Hortopan, D., Warriors and their weapons in Bronze and Iron Ages, Proceedings of the 21st International Colloquium of Funerary Archaeology 25th-28th May, 2023, Târgu Jiu, Gorj County (Romania), Braila, 2023, pp.301-320, fig.18; for bullets with the same inscription see Özenir, S.A., 'Some inscribed Lead Sling Bullets from Miletos' in Epigraphica Anatolica 50, 2017, pp.167-178, figs.51-53.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1546
Greek Lead Slingshot with Inscription
Estimate £60 - 80€70 - 93 (for guidance only)$81 - 108 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£5 (EUR 6; USD 7) +BP*
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
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. -
Iron Age Celtic Socketted Iron Spearhead
2nd-1st century B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
With a slender heart-shaped blade, thick midrib, flared closed socket. 120 grams, 28 cm
From a 1980s collection. Ex North West London gallery. with TimeLine Auctions, 22-27 May 2018, no.1480. Private collection, Suffolk. -
Medieval Iron Single-Handed Sword with Decorated Bronze Pommel
14th-15th century A.D.Estimate: £3,000 - 4,000 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £1,500
Longsword of Oakeshott's Type XVa, cross style 1, with two-edged lenticular-section piled blade with taper overall to a narrow point; quillons round in section with taper to ends and lobe finials, median locket to lower edge; flat-section tang tapering to the upper end; the pommel a variant of Oakshott's Type V with median vertical band to each face, piriform block with lateral scoops. 1.07 kg, 105 cm
From the private family collection of a lady, UK; acquired in Germany, mid-20th century. 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.13301-257660.
The Type XVa of Oakeshott has a blade similar to the Type XV, being generally more slender than its parent type, and having a grip which is much longer, ranging from seven to nine inches long or more. This style of sword appears to have been popular in the 14th century, based on surviving examples. Interesting is here the style of the quillons, which are rare: in style 11 the guard may be long or short, curved or straight, but always characterised by knobbed ends and a circular or rhomboidal in section. A sword found in the River Ouse in Surrey shows a similar blade, with a flat oval diamond section, and the outline is such that the sword could be regarded as of type XV, although many swords of type XVII are of the same shape and proportions.
