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 textured with a series of concentric rings. 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 with the Parthenon gallery, previously in an old English collection formed in the 1980s.Size: L:135mm / W:80mm ; 745g