BYZANTINE POTTERY GRENADE WITH INCISED LETTERS

Ca AD 900 - 1200 A Byzantine pottery hand grenade. It has an acorn-shaped body, a rounded shoulder, and a narrow mouth. The body is textured with several vertical letters and incised lines, and a series of concentric rings narrowing gradually towards the mouth. These grenades were used to hold the highly flammable substance known as "Greek fire," although the exact composition of the substance is unknown. Some scholars believe that the mixture was made of pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, and sulfur. For similar see: Nishapour,, pottery of the early Islamic Period, n. 109 - 117 pg. 353
Size: 130mm x 100mm; Weight: 575g
Provenance: Private Oxfordshire collection; formerly acquired on the European art market from pre-2000 collections.

100
Estimate: GBP 150 - 300