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LOT 1464
Viking Age and Later Iron Axehead Group
10TH-18TH CENTURY A.D.
4 3/4 - 11 3/4 in. (8.45 kg total, 12-30 cm).
Mainly comprising socketted axeheads and adzes, adze-axes, wedges and other items. [10, No Reserve]
ProvenanceAcquired 1990s-early 2000s.
East Anglian private collection.
Cf. Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.163, for the typology of eastern axes similar to the Viking bearded specimen in our group.
FootnotesSlavic battle-axes also came into use in Scandinavia, especially in the Eastern part of Gotland, Denmark and Sweden. There were narrow-bladed types, described as being very light. Another characteristic of some of the Eastern axes was an extra long hammer or more rarely a secondary blade protruding from the back of axehead.
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AUCTIONS:
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From 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. 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. Such were the γανωτα, vessels (sometimes also of bronze) used for Greek fire. 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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From the collection of the famous author, writer and speaker, Gordon Bailey, Essex, UK; formed since 1968.
