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LOT 1448
Scythian Bronze Arrowhead Collection
CIRCA 7TH-3RD CENTURY B.C.
1 3/8 - 2 1/4 in. (130 grams total, 37-57 mm).
Each with a slender, lozenge-shaped blade and a socket extending near the tip, base of the socket with a side lug. [20, No Reserve]
ProvenanceUK private collection before 2000.
Acquired on the UK art market.
Property of a London gentleman.
Cf. Gorelik, M., Weapons of Ancient East, IV millennium BC-IV century BC, Saint Petersburg, 2003, in Russian, for similar arrowheads from Eurasian sites (plate XLIV, nos.19,31,32,36,37,38,39,51,71).
FootnotesIn Greek warfare archery was mainly employed by Scythians and Cretans for the longer-ranks. Both used composite bows made of wood, horn, bone and sinew. This explains the great range of Scythian arrowheads found on the Greek sites.
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AUCTIONS:
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Medieval Iron Axehead
15th-16th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £33
With square butt, scooped underside and a flared blade. 1.04 kg, 16 cm
Acquired on the UK market before 1992. Ex property of a North London gentleman. -
Medieval Iron Bearded Axehead
Circa 15th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
With broad curved blade and square chin, narrow neck, deep socket with square-section hammer to the reverse. 1.27 kg, 17.7 cm
Private collection, UK, formed 1980s-1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Piriform body with domed filler-hole, the upper body decorated with vertical rows of pellets separated by deep grooves; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 444 grams, 10.2 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 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'.
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.
