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LOT 1193
Roman Bronze Armour Double Fastening Hooks
1ST CENTURY A.D.
2 1/2 in. (16.5 grams total, 65 mm each).
Each a scrolled bar with gently carinated upper face, formed as serpents or other animals with stylised geometric detailing; attachment perforations to one terminal. [2]
ProvenanceAcquired on the London art market, 1980s-1990s.
LiteratureCf. Bishop, M.C. & Coulston, J.C.N., Roman military equipment, from the Punic wars to the fall of Rome, London, 2006, p.96, fig.51,4 for similar.
FootnotesIn the 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D., the Celtic fastening system of the ring mail armour (gallica, lorica ferro aspera) became the standard in the Imperial Roman army, with a pivot attached to the breast and hinged to the edges of the humeralia (shoulder guards). The chest fastener had various different designs. The double hooks, S-shaped and usually with snake-head terminals, were secured by a central rivet on the chest. The system allowed excellent freedom of movement, giving greater protection to the shoulders and the arms. Similar fasteners for infantry mail have been found on the Kalkriese battlefield, some of them also decorated with niello and inscribed with the name of the soldier.
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Composed of an arched heelband, hanging studs and buckle, together with a multi-armed rowel. 104 grams, 14.5 cm
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Elamite Bronze Macehead
Early 2nd millennium B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £312
Of tapering cylindrical form with flange to socket, the upper body displaying vertical columns of chevrons between plain bands. 449 grams, 23 cm
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This gorz mace head belongs to the category of truncheon-shaped mace-heads, a type developed on the Iranian plateau during the Bronze Age, used by Elamite and Luristan warriors since the 3rd millennium B.C. This category of objects was also interpreted as a part of a shaft or cudgel, but most scholars agree on the interpretation of use as a mace. -
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £182
Piriform in shape with raised lugs to the upper body with stamped concentric roundels between. 588 grams, 15.3 cm
Family collection, acquired 1980-2015. Ex property of a North London gentleman. 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. They were called μεσαία kακαβιά or κυτροκακάβια where the former had a bulbous shape and the latter a more cylindrical form.
