Turco-Mongol 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade

14TH CENTURY A.D.

7 1/8 in. (458 grams, 18 cm).

Piriform body with horizontal bands to the shoulder, flanged collar, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]

Provenance

From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards.

Literature

Cf. 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

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.

CONDITION

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LOT 1376