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LOT 1433
Very Large Tanged Bronze Spear
1900-1650 B.C.
28 3/4 in. (1.06 kg, 73 cm).
Each side rising to a pointed ridge, curved tang for attaching to a shaft. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Cf. Comstock, M., Vermeule Cornelius, Greek, Etruscan & Roman Bronzes in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, New York, 1971, p.397, no. 555, for similar; D'Amato, R., Salimbeti, A., Early Aegean Warrior 5000-1450 BC, Oxford, 2013, p.13, for similar specimens in the British Museum; cf. also Gernez, G., L’armament en métal au Proche et Moyen-Orient: des origines a 1750 av. J.C., Paris, 2007, fig.2.81, p.284.
FootnotesThe characteristic point is the hooked tang, the end of which was fitted with a button. The spear was inserted into a wooden barrel and then held in place with a series of leather laces (Gernez, 2007, p.312).
CONDITIONTimeLine Auctions follows a vetting process to ensure the authenticity and legality of all items, reinforcing our commitment to integrity and responsible trading. Each antiquity, antique, and coin lot undergoes thorough examination by a vetting committee of at least ten external specialists, professional trade association members, scientists, and archaeologists: Our Vetting Process
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100 Civil War Period Lead Musket Balls
Circa 17th-18th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £65
Mixed group of lead-alloy musket and carbine balls, some with casting seam and sprue nipple. 1.71 kg total, 9-19 mm
Found Hertfordshire, UK. -
Saxon Iron Armory Group
Circa 6th-7th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £260
Comprising: axehead with sturdy square-section neck, T-shaped blade, hammer-face to rear of the socket; barbed spearhead with split socket; long single-edged knife with stub tang. 1.37 kg total, 16.5-43 cm
From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
10th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £195
Compressed spherical body, the upper part with impressed decoration consisting of two rows of Saint Andreas crossed inside a shield, with domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 382 grams, 10.2 cm
Acquired 1980-2015. Ex Abelita family collection. 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.
