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LOT 0254
Sasanian Silver-Plated Lion Shield Boss
6TH-7TH CENTURY A.D. OR EARLIER
3 in. (80.9 grams, 78 mm).
With stylised repoussé head and face detailing showing two faces, one to the side and the other to the top, the mane represented by a scalloped border; sheet-silver cladding to the head over bronze; pierced for attachment.
ProvenanceEx London, UK, gallery, 1971-early 2000s.
London, UK, collection.
Cf. similar in the British Museum under accession number 134358; cf. Grabar, O., Sasanian Silver: Late Antique and Early Mediaeval Arts of Luxury From Iran, Michigan, 1967, p.129, no.46, for type.
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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.
