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LOT 0951
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
14TH CENTURY A.D.
7 1/8 in. (802 grams, 18 cm).
Piriform body with impressed hatched bands to the shoulder and upper body, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.
LiteratureCf. 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.
Footnotes; the shape finds correspondence with a fire grenade in the Kars Museum, no.14.09.2009. 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.
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AUCTIONS:
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LOT 0951
Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
Sold for (Inc. bp): £130
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Byzantine Bronze Stamp Seal with Inscription
6th-8th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £39
With a short shank and oblate pierced finial, hexafoil base; to the underside a reversed legend 'ANAL[Γ} / ΦOΔ[D]O / ***'. 12.3 grams, 19 mm
Acquired on the London, UK, art market in the 1990s. From a gentleman's private collection.
The seal was probably used for stamping bread in a church. Usually these stamps had two parts: a flat surface with inscriptions or geometric shapes, and a handle. The inscription is an enigma: the upper part can be read [Aθ]ANA[TOC] = Immortal and (if we accept the L like an inversed Γ (gamma) [A]Γ[ΙΟϹ] i.e. Saint = Saint Immortal, one of the three invocation to God (Saint God, Saint Mighty, Saint Immortal). However, the second row of letters is in Greek and Latin (φο-do) if we accept the letter D as a transliteration of the Greek letter Delta. -
Byzantine Openwork Gold Cross Pendant
Circa 12th-14th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £143
Formed as an equal-armed cross with pellet terminals within a circlet, two small loops below and a large suspension loop above. 1.00 grams, 17 mm
Ex property of a late Japanese collector, 1970-2000s. -
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Byzantine Gold Cross Pendant
6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £1,170
Formed as a quatrefoil plaque with five large bulbs to the obverse, smaller interstitial bulbs and repoussé collars; bifid loop above. 3.70 grams, 36 mm
UK private collection before 2000. On the UK art market. Property of a London gentleman.
