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LOT 1550
Miniature Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9TH-11TH CENTURY A.D.
2 5/8 in. (89 grams, 67 mm).
Small and biconical in profile with narrow point; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom 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'.
Cf. Arendt, W. I., Granaten des 13-14. Jahrhunderts, die an der Wolga gefunden sind, Zeitschrift fur Historische Waffen-und Kostumkunde, 11 (1926-8), p.42; cf. Arendt, W., Die Spharisch-konischen Gefäße aus Gebranntem Ton, ibid; cf. Ayalon, D., Gunpowder and Firearms in the Mamluk Kingdom, London, 1956, p.16.
FootnotesApart 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 1550
Miniature Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
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Roman 'Consular' Lead Slingshot
1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Fusiform shot with casting nipple at each end, low-relief legend 'COS' to one face and traces of letters on the other. 38 grams, 36 mm
From the collection of a London antiquarian, formed since the 1980s.
The shot (Völling type 1C) is marked with the abbreviation COS, meaning CO(N)S(UL), the highest military magistrate of the Roman Res Publica. The projectiles were made of different materials: lead (glandes) or pottery or stone (lapides missiles). -
Luristan Socketted Bronze Axe Head
12th-8th century B.C.Estimate: £600 - 800 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £300
Comprising a wide curving blade and long neck with a band of herringbone decoration at the base, tubular neck with claw-like extension to the rear and a decorative diagonal band to both sides. 308 grams, 10.6 cm
Acquired on the Swiss art market, 1997. Private collection, Europe. -
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Western Asiatic Bronze Arrowhead Collection
2nd-1st millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £338
Comprising tanged arrowheads, four with large elongated triangular blades and raised midrib, sharp central groove, three with barbed shoulders and cylindrical stem with handle for the shaft; three with barbed shoulders and convex on sides, one elongated triangular type with barbed shoulders and flat socket, one with trilobate blade and another with short tang and barbed blade with raised midrib. 305 grams total, 6.5-13.6 cm
Ex London, UK, collection, 1990s.
These arrowheads seem to belong to the type V, subcategory types A, B, C and D according to the classification of Khorasani and Negahban. In the four categories of triangular bronze arrowheads from Luristan, Marlik, and Northern Iran, individuated by Negahban, subtypes C and D of type V are larger arrow or javelin heads, C with barbed shoulders and D with round shoulders. Most of them were cast in moulds.
