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LOT 0260
Luristan Bronze Bird Spike-Butted Axehead
11TH-8TH CENTURY B.C.
8 7/8 in. (478 grams, 22.5 cm).
Blade with folded upper and lower edge, cylindrical socket with projecting ribs formed as the necks and heads of birds, blade 'projecting' from the mouth of a roaring lion at the neck.
ProvenanceEx Parisian private collection.
with Cuvreau Expertises Enchères S.A., sale 60, 21 June 2009, lot 105.
This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by search certificate number no.11876-206787.
This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Cf. The British Museum, museum number 130676 for similar; cf. The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession numbers 32.161.3 and 1988.102.2, for similar.
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £52
Piriform in profile with narrow point, and deep shoulder, narrow neck and domed mouth. 512 grams, 11.3 cm
From a London, UK, gentleman's collection of ancient pottery and artefacts, 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
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. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £91
A large piriform missile with raised lugs and impressed circle-and-dot motifs, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 708 grams, 16 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato. -
North-Western Persian Bronze Short Sword with Spherical Pommel
Late 2nd-early 1st millennium B.CSold for (Inc. bp): £247
The hilt with flanged pommel, round grip with horizontal flange, crescentic guard, long foliate blade with rectangular-section mid-rib. 910 grams, 47.5 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
Moorey studied pommelled swords and attributed their production to north-western Iran, dating them to the end of the 2nd millennium B.C. Dimensions of these swords varied from circa 49 cm (Khorasani, 2006, p.395) to 74 cm (sword in the Ashmolean Museum). While the blade belongs to the usual typology, like the penannular guard, the fashion of the pommel is unusual.
