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LOT 1370
Viking Age Iron Long Bearded Axehead
CIRCA 10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
7 1/8 in. (740 grams, 18 cm).
With broad curved blade and short spur beneath the chin, narrow neck, deep socket with extended edge to the reverse. [No Reserve]
ProvenanceFrom the collection of a Californian, USA, gentleman, dating back to the late 1960s.
LiteratureCf. Arbman, H., Birka I: Die Gräber, Uppsala, 1940, pl.14, item 3; Kirpichnikov, A.N., Drevnerusskoe Oruzie, II, Moscow-Leningrad, 1966, in Arkheologiia SSSR, vol. E1-36, especially axes nos.1,5, from Веськово and Селибка (pl.XIII), and no.6 (pl.XXII) from Гусева Гора; Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl V, items 16, 17, 20; pl.CXXIV, item 1.
FootnotesThe axe seems to be a variation of type IV of the Kirpichnikov classification of the Eastern Rus Axes typology. These axes appeared in the 10th century, and continued in the 10th-11th century.
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Cuman-Qipchak Iron Shield Rim Group
12th-13th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £104
Square in section and curved in profile with pierced lobes and attachment rivets. 252 grams total, 7.2-43 cm
UK gallery, early 2000s.
These kind of shields are often found in the burials of nomadic warriors of Eastern Europe accompanied by certain sets of weapons — four-part helmets, quiver kits, sabers and a spearhead. Such graves contained the remains of similar wooden shields with metal parts. Determining the dating of these burial complexes in the framework of the Golden Horde time, the Archaeologists dwell in detail on the attribution of the helmets and the remnants of the shields, linking their appearance in the Northeast Black Sea Coast with the resettlement here of the black hoods from Southern Russia in 1260s. -
Viking Iron Bearded Axehead
Circa 9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £208
With curved edge to the blade, square chin and scooped underside, rounded socket. 390 grams, 15 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
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
With domed filler-hole, broad shoulder, alternating bands of crescent impressed detailing; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 242 grams, 10.1 cm
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.
