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LOT 1524
Greek Socketted Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA 5TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
3/4 - 1 3/8 in. (31 grams total, 20-35 mm).
Comprising fifteen triangular-type socketed arrowheads. [15]
ProvenanceEx German art market, 2000s.
Acquired from an EU collector living in London.
From the collection of a Surrey, UK, gentleman.
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LOT 1524
Greek Socketted Arrowhead Collection
Estimate £100 - 140€120 - 160 (for guidance only)$140 - 190 (for guidance only)
Opening Bid
£50 (EUR 58; USD 68) +BP*
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Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Comprising fifteen tanged arrowheads, some with barbs. 286 grams total, 6.9-17 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Bulbous body with rounded base and domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 682 grams, 11.3 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. -
Greek Mauritanian Kingdom Lead Slingshot of King Mastanesosus
Circa 80-49 B.C.Estimate: £300 - 400 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £5
Biconical in profile with casting seam and reserved monogram to obverse 'REX·SOS'; Neo-Punic monogram to reverse. 67.3 grams, 40 mm
Acquired on the UK art market, early 2000s. Property of a London, UK, antiquarian.
This remarkable slingshot offers a rare insight into a little-known period in the history of the Kingdom of Mauretania in the first century B.C. The piece can be linked to King Mastanesosus, who is known to have shortened his name to “Sos.” He was the son of Bocchus I (c. 110–80s BC), the ruler who famously betrayed King Jugurtha of Numidia to Sulla and the Roman Republic. The inscription in Latin shows the growing influence of Rome at the time. It may even suggest that Roman slingers were part of Sosus’s army. During this period, Mauretania was already coming under Roman control and influence. Later, Bocchus II, the grandson of Sosus, supported the winning side in Rome’s civil war, and Mauretania became a client kingdom. This eventually led to its full absorption into the Roman Empire after the murder of King Ptolemy, son of Juba, by the emperor Caligula. The reverse of the slingshot shows a monogram in neo-Punic, similar to those found on coins from the same period. This is almost certainly a personal symbol or mark of Sosus himself. The use of both Latin and neo-Punic makes the piece bilingual, which is particularly interesting.
