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LOT 1358
Viking Age Iron T-Shaped Axehead
10TH-12TH CENTURY A.D.
6 3/4 in. (588 grams, 17 cm).
Narrow T-shaped blade with curved edge, large D-shaped socket with lateral triangular flanges and rectangular extension to the rear.
ProvenanceFrom the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s.
LiteratureCf. Sedov, B.B., Finno-Ugri i Balti v Epokhi Srednevekovija, Moscow, 1987, pl.CX, items 41,43, for the type; see also Hjardar, K. & Vike, V., Vikings at war, Oxford-Philadelphia, 2016, p.163, for the typology of eastern axes.
FootnotesSlavic battle-axes also came into use in Scandinavia, especially in the Eastern part of Gotland, Denmark and Sweden. One of the types was a T-shaped axe with a broad blade. There were narrow-bladed types too, 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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LOT 1358
Viking Age Iron T-Shaped Axehead
Estimate £300 - 400€350 - 460 (for guidance only)$410 - 540 (for guidance only)
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Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £98
Biconvex body with impressed billeted bands and domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 460 grams, 13.9 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards. 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'.
The shape corresponds with a fire grenade in the Kars Museum, no.14.09.2009. 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. -
Phoenician Bronze Arrowhead with Inscription
Circa 12th-11th century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £3,640
With incised text to the midrib on one face, less well-defined characters to the reverse. 9.2 grams, 63 mm
From the collection of a gentleman, acquired on the London art market in the 1990s.
The arrowhead seems to carry a Proto-Aramaic or Phoenician inscription like many arrows found in the Levant and Israel. They are usually reporting proper names like ‘Suwar, retainer of Abday’. As far as the function of these arrowheads is concerned, we know that the name inscribed on them was the owner's because successive owner's names were incised on two palimpsest examples. The letters engraved upon our arrow seem to be in the Phoenician alphabet and read ḤŞ’Ḥ’ (arrow of…) on the reverse, and ’Š I Š Q (?) (man of…) on the obverse. -
Byzantine 'Greek Fire' Ceramic Fire Bomb or Hand Grenade
9th-11th century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £286
Piriform body with impressed ribs to the equator, band of roundels to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 444 grams, 11.3 cm
From a specialist collection of militaria, London, UK, collected 1990s onwards. 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.
