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LOT 1830
Large Medieval Tanged Iron Incendiary Fire Arrowhead
CIRCA 13TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
6 5/8 in. (31.9 grams, 16.9 cm).
Comprising a long slender tang and balustered neck, rectangular head with 'chisel' blade, median slot and hole for attachment of flammable material.
ProvenanceAcquired from a USA private collector in the 1990s.
Ex Buckinghamshire, UK, collection.
See Jessop, O., Medieval Arrowheads, Finds Research Group datasheet 22, Lincoln, 1997.
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Western Asiatic Bronze Spear Blade
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £200 - 300 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £100
With an ovate blade, prominent central rib and rounded shoulders, square-section shaft with flared lateral spurs forming a collar, rectangular tang with narrow tip. 347 grams, 29.6 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
1000-700 B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Comprising fifteen tanged arrowheads, four with elongated triangular blades and raised midrib, two of squared type with flat tang, three with barbed shoulders and short cylindrical stem with handle for the shaft; two with squared shoulders and rectangular stem with handle for the shaft, one with leafed elongated blade, one with wide triangular head and long handle for the shaft, and other two long and spiked with raised midrib. 240 grams total, 7.1-16.5 cm
London, UK, collection, 1990s.
Some of the arrowheads belong to type V of the Khorasani classification: subtype D (triangular arrowheads with rounded or angular midrib) and subtype C, arrowheads with elongated, triangular shape with barbed shoulders and convex sides, and a raised midrib with a sharp central line. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
Large, cylindrical body with a domed filler hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 770 grams, 13.7 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.
