Western Asiatic Bronze Spearhead

With foliate blade and tapering socket. 183 grams, 25.6 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.

The bronze spearhead developed considerably during the period of the Assyrian colonies in Anatolia and even during the period Karum III-IV, maintaining consistently its southern shape. Conical points are also known from Bogazkoy's Karum levels. While spearheads from the first half of the 2nd millennium B.C. were hafted by means of a tang, with two slots in the blade providing additional support, most of the Late Bronze Age spearheads were socketted.

Iron shoe with lateral curved plates and vertical bar to the front, rear panel with hooked spur for attachment. 350 grams, 16.5 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.

Hipposandals (soleae ferreae) were used on horses with injured hooves, a sort of equine orthopaedic shoe used by the mulomedicus, i.e. a Roman military veterinarian. Another important function was that to protect the hooves of the horse from injuries and damages from hard objects. The hipposandal of type 1 was formed from a sub-oval plate which tapered towards the front and rear with projections at the front, back and on either side. The heel was upturned at about 45 degrees and flared outwards. It would have terminated with a downward facing hook, now missing. The base of the sole was flat.

Piriform body with broad neck, stamped roulettes to the lower body and fronds to the shoulder, domed filler-hole, intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 982 grams, 16 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.