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Back to previous pageLOT 1609
Sold for (Inc. bp): £78
13TH-15TH CENTURY A.D.
6 1/2 in. (630 grams, 16.4 cm).
A hollow vessel with cylindrical body, short neck and domed mouth, impressed linear decoration to the body; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and a wick, and used as a hand grenade. [No Reserve]
PROVENANCE:
From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 1990s onwards.
Academic report by Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D’Amato.
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. 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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