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LOT 0799
Large Byzantine Weight with Cross and Lettering
1ST MILLENNIUM B.C.
1 5/8 in. (83 grams, 41 mm).
A large coin-shaped copper-alloy weight engraved with a cross recercelee at centre flanked by the Greek letters 'Γ - Γ', enclosed in a roundel of chevrons punctuated by a single annulet at each quarter, scallops and pellets to the outer border. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired before the early 1970s.
Ex London, UK, gallery.
Property of a London gentleman.
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AUCTIONS:
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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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form. -
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Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. -
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