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LOT 1802
Greek Lead Slingshot with Trident of Poseidon
3RD-1ST CENTURY B.C.
1 1/4 in. (33.4 grams, 31 mm).
Biconical in profile with casting seam and low relief trident motif to one face.
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
LiteratureCf. 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.6, 37 (type Volling IIb).
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1802
Greek Lead Slingshot with Trident of Poseidon
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
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Luristan Bronze Long Sword with Double-Edged Blade and Domed Pommel
Circa 1200 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,560
With a tapering, double-edged, triangular blade and three-column midrib; crescent-shaped guard at the shoulder; cylindrical hilt with grips, domed pommel with recesses for inlay. 1.12 kg, 65.5 cm
Ex German collection. with Hermann Historica, Munich, Germany, 2008. Private collection, New York, USA. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
Ovoid in profile with a domed tiered filler hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 700 grams, 13.8 cm
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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. -
Roman Iron Anti-Cavalry Caltrop Group
3rd-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising six caltrops, hand-forged with square-section spikes. 338 grams total, 76-93 mm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
Caltrops were scattered on battlefields in an effort to stop or slow advancing enemy cavalry or foot soldiers; regardless of how a caltrop lands, one spike is always facing upwards. Caesar used them widely at Alesia (Caes., BG 7.73; 82): 'Stakes a foot long, with iron hooks attached to them, were entirely sunk in the ground before these, and were planted in every place at small intervals; these they called spurs'.
