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THBByzantine / Medieval Pottery Holy Hand Grenade
Lot 55a
About Seller
Artemis Gallery
686 S Taylor Ave, Ste 106
Louisville, CO 80027
United States
Selling antiquities, ancient and ethnographic art online since 1993, Artemis Gallery specializes in Classical Antiquities (Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Near Eastern), Asian, Pre-Columbian, African / Tribal / Oceanographic art. Our extensive inventory includes pottery, stone, metal, wood, glass and textil...Read more
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Live Auction in Progress ... Currently on Lot Estimate:
$900 - $1,300
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Bid Increments
| Price | Bid Increment |
|---|---|
| $0 | $25 |
| $300 | $50 |
| $1,000 | $100 |
| $2,000 | $250 |
| $5,000 | $500 |
| $10,000 | $1,000 |
| $20,000 | $2,500 |
| $50,000 | $5,000 |
| $100,000 | $10,000 |
| $200,000 | $20,000 |
About Auction
Live
By Artemis Gallery
Mar 25, 2021
Set Reminder
2021-03-25 10:00:00
2021-03-25 10:00:00
America/New_York
Bidsquare
Bidsquare : CLEARANCE Antiquities | Ethnographic Art
https://www.bidsquare.com/auctions/artemis-gallery/clearance-antiquities-ethnographic-art-6663
Featuring discounted pricing on Asian art, Classical antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy, and the Near East...plus Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Russian Icons, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
Featuring discounted pricing on Asian art, Classical antiquities from Egypt, Greece, Italy, and the Near East...plus Pre-Columbian, Tribal, Russian Icons, Spanish Colonial, Fine Art, more! Artemis Gallery info@artemisgallery.com
View Full Catalog (353)
- Lot Description
**First Time At Auction**
Near East / Europe, late Byzantine to Medieval, ca. 11th to 14th century CE. A rare mold-made pottery hand grenade in a rich pink terracotta with remains of grey pigment featuring a circular base that expands to a bulbous body and then narrows to a dramatically sloped shoulder with a petite circular fuse hole, a slender neck, and a flat annular top. The base of the vessel boasts a lovely stamped tondo of a crowned and veiled Virgin Mary endearingly tilting her head to press her left cheek against a diademed baby Jesus, who sits upon her lap and looks to his left. Both adorned with halos of vegetal motifs, the mother and child are flanked by two additional haloed figures, one to their left genuflecting and holding a crosier, possibly a bishop or pope, and another to their right holding 2 spears, perhaps Saint Longinus. The body of this holy hand grenade is embellished by 5 thick incised bands along its shoulder, 2 on its neck, and 3 at the bottom just before its base. Size: 3.25" W x 7.125" H (8.3 cm x 18.1 cm)
Grenades like this were meant to hold the famed and highly combustible substance known "Greek fire," though its exact composition is unknown; scholars posit that the mixture was composed of pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, and sulfur. If you remove the paper from the fuse hole and tilt this example on its side, remains of a sandy combustible substance will pour out!
For a touch of humor, "And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, 'O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that, with it, Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits in Thy mercy. And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats and large chu--" (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1975)
Provenance: private collection, Beaverton, Oregon, USA
All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany all winning bids.
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#149842Expected surface wear commensurate with age including nicks/chips, scratches, and abraded areas throughout with some softening to relief and side rings. Wearing of relief and remains of pottery on periphery of tondo suggest there was previously a foot. Otherwise, intact and excellent with nice remaining pigment and rich earthen deposits.Condition
- Shipping Info
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