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 six incised vertical bands that give the grenade the appearance of a flower when seen from above. 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 sulphur; custom-made stand included.Provenance: Property of a London gentleman, formerly acquired in Europe in the 1980s.Size: L:125mm / W:75mm ; 530g