Western Asiatic Stone Macehead

Comprising four triangular tanged types and one leaf-shaped socketted type, four with original wooden shafts; rare. 19.9 grams total, 45-57 mm



Ex Robin Symes Gallery, Mayfair, pre 1999. From a London, UK, collection. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Missile troops were not neglected in ancient Greece. In the mid-4th century B.C. Athens, inscriptions list boxes of arrows; in 282, a Cretan coach is recorded as being employed to train Athenian archers, and Sparta too had long since employed Cretan archers. Bow and quiver of great value were often the prize of sport competitions.

Deliberately broken up on deposition, Petersen's Type L variant, comprising: D-shaped pommel with peened tang above and upper portion of tang forming the grip; lower section of tang with separate lower guard, scaphoid in plan and gently drooping in profile with convergent ends; upper portion of double-edged lentoid-section blade; lower section of parallel-sided blade with rounded tip. 1.15 kg total, 9-66 cm



From the private collection of a London gentleman, from his grandfather's collection formed before the early 1970s. This lot has been checked against the Interpol Database of stolen works of art and is accompanied by a search certificate number no.12726-234732. This lot has been cleared against the Art Loss Register database, and is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

Piriform in profile with narrow point and domed mouth; the body decorated with regularly arranged annulets and concentric circles; intended to be filled with explosive liquid and wick, used as a hand grenade. 510 grams, 11.9 cm



From an important specialist collection, London, UK, 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'. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.

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.