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LOT 1475
Late Roman Period Iron Narrow Axehead
GERMANY, 3RD-5TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/8 in. (616 grams, 15.5 cm).
Narrow axe with curved blade and oval socket with a flat extension to the rear. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceEx M. Spiegelberg collection, since 1991; thence by descent.
Accompanied by a previous yellow cataloguing slip.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1475
Late Roman Period Iron Narrow Axehead
Estimate £40 - 60€46 - 70 (for guidance only)$54 - 81 (for guidance only)
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Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
13th-15th century A.D.Estimate: £80 - 100 (+bp*)
Bids: 1 | Current Bid: £5
Piriform in profile with a stepped neck, incised decoration and three raised lugs; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. 424 grams, 17 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. -
Large Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
Early 1st millennium B.C.Estimate: £150 - 200 (+bp*)
Opening Bid: £75
The blade with rounded shoulders, the raised midrib extending to the shaft, a rectangular-section tang below. 400 grams, 33.8 cm
Ex Abelita family collection, 1990s. -
Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead
9th-7th century B.C.Estimate: £100 - 140 (+bp*)
Bids: 5 | Current Bid: £90
Comprising a leaf-shaped blade with a midrib and a long tapering socket; accompanied by a display stand, repaired. 365 grams total, spearhead: 36.5 cm (38.2 cm including stand)
Ex Abelita family collection, 1980s-2000s.
The spear, belonging to type 3 of the Khorasani classification, was used by chariot fighters to strike each other or the enemy infantry from above. Similar specimens with longer sockets were excavated by Negahban in the Amlash area. According to Moorey, sockets as long, if not longer than the blade, are a characteristic of Iranian spearheads in the late 2nd and early 1st millennium B.C. A similar spearhead from the Tappeh Sialk has been dated to the 9th-7th century B.C.
