Sale: CNG 81, Lot: 1468. Estimate $500.  Closing Date: Wednesday, 20 May 2009.  Sold For $325. This amount does not include the buyer’s fee.

Terracotta “hand grenade”. Byzantine or Islamic(?), 6th-10th centuries. Pine-cone shaped with conical neck. Thick clay walls decorated with four rosettes and scale-like pattern for gripping. Height: 13.2 cm. Rare and in good condition, some minor surface damage, remaining residue from sticker.

Similar to Molotov cocktails, such “hand grenades” were filled with combustible liquids. As most were destroyed in battle, intact examples are very rare.