Post Medieval Weaponry Display

With foliate blade and tapering socket. 183 grams, 25.6 cm



From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000. From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.

The bronze spearhead developed considerably during the period of the Assyrian colonies in Anatolia and even during the period Karum III-IV, maintaining consistently its southern shape. Conical points are also known from Bogazkoy's Karum levels. While spearheads from the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C. were hafted by means of a tang, with two slots in the blade providing additional support, most of the Late Bronze Age spearheads were socketted.

Tanged arrowhead with broad kite-shaped blade. 15 grams, 97 mm



Acquired on the London art market in the late 1980s-1990s. From the family collection of an East London, UK, gentleman.

Piriform body decorated with concentric circles inside a eight rays pointed star pattern, with domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 610 grams, 11.5 cm



Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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'.

The Arabs, following the Roman examples, made great use of these weapons. The efficiency of the weapon appears, for example, from the account of the siege of Akka in 1189, given by the contemporary historian Ibn al-Athir. He tells how the Christians exercised their engineering skill and built mighty beffroys. The situation was hopeless for the defending Arabs until a man from Damascus showed up, because he knew how to produce Greek Fire: ‘To trick the Christians he first threw some vesseIs with naptha and other things, which were not set on fire, upon one of the beffroy’s, and it was without power. The Christians...climbed the top of the beffroy...the man from Damascus waited until the contents of the vessels were spread all over. When the moment came,he threw a new pot, which was set on fire. In a few moments the fire was spread all over, and the beffroy was eaten up by the flames. The fire was spread in such a hurry that the Christians could not manage to climb down from the beffroy. Men, weapons, everything was eaten up by the flames.’