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LOT 1086
Viking Age Iron Socketted Spearhead
10-11TH CENTURY A.D.
16 in. (313 grams, 40.7 cm).
Type M with rhomboid blade with straight edges, ending in squared angles at the base and narrowing as it merges into the round cross-section socket.
ProvenanceEx private collection of Mr M.B., Mainz, Germany, since the 1980s.
Acquired from the above, 2004.
Cf. D'Amato, R., 'The Betrayal: military iconography and archaeology in the Byzantine paintings of XI-XV centuries AD representing the arrest of Our Lord' in Acts of the International conference ‘Weapons bring peace? Warfare in Medieval and Early Modern Europe’, Wroclaw, 2-4 December 2010, Wroclaw, 2012, pp.69-95, fig.18; Hjardar, K. and Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, pp.175-180.
FootnotesThis type of spears account for half of the found Viking spears, together with types I,K,G,F. Differently from the previous types of Viking spearheads, side wings do not feature commonly in these typologies. A Viking spear of M type, dated at end of 11th century A.D., was found on the Drastar battlefield, showing a cross intermediary between the blade and the shaft.
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Eastern Roman Tinned Bronze Composite Belt Mount
8th century A.D.Estimate: £100 - 140 (‡+bp*)
Opening Bid: £50
Displaying openwork floriate decoration within a tongue-shaped frame; two pierced attachment lugs to the rear. 27.9 grams, 93 mm
From the collection of a North American gentleman, formed in the 1990s.
The belt is of composite type, decorated with scrollwork in Byzantine style. Many authors discuss the possibility that these belts were produced in the Eastern Roman capital or that they were made in the workshops of the Avar Khaganate, maybe with Roman matrices for producing sheet ornaments. -
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Roman Bronze Eagle-Handled Knife
1st-4th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £572
Comprising a curved single-edged iron blade; openwork bronze handle with a standing eagle finial; an open groove to the back of the eagle and handle to accept the folding blade. 37 grams, 14.5 cm
Ex California, USA, collection formed since the late 1960s. European art market before the late 1990s. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £156
Piriform body with domed filler-hole; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 434 grams, 12.4 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. 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.
