ca. 900–1100 AD. Byzantine. A hefty, mould-formed pottery hand grenade with an acorn-shaped body, a rounded shoulder, and a narrow mouth. The body is decorated with vertical bands of continuous incised dots alternating with bands of dots in the shape of flowers. Grenades like this were meant to hold the famed and highly combustible substance known as "Greek fire," though its exact composition is unknown; scholars posit that the mixture was composed of pine resin, naphtha, quicklime, and sulphur; custom-made stand included.Provenance: Property of a London gentleman, formerly with the Parthenon gallery, previously in an old English collection formed in the 1980s.Size: L:135mm / W:75mm ; 650g