iron hand grenade

eftihis · 12th September 2010, 06:27 PM

Hi, i found this rusty old hand grenade here locally together with some small cannon balls.
The size and shape reminds me very much hand grenades of the venetian period made from glass. Can anyone determine the age of this piece?

fernando · 12th September 2010, 07:14 PM

Most interesting,
I hope the experts have a say on this one!

M ELEY · 13th September 2010, 04:47 PM

No expert here, but I had to comment- that is a great piece! I have one of the later versions without the raised lip that probably had a wooden plug. Mine dates from 17th-18th c. From the look of the casting and patina to the iron, I'm suspecting this is Medieval, as grenadoes dated back to the 14th c, I believe? Yours would have had a simple long fuse vs the wooden plug of later models. I'm wondering if yours was a shipwreck pick-up?

Atlantia · 13th September 2010, 11:19 PM

Wow! What a thing to find. Brilliant addition to a collection, congratulations!

Matchlock · 23rd September 2010, 11:24 PM

Hi eftihis,

Great acquisition, that one, and, right: probably Venetian or, in general, North Italian or Austria. Many thanks for sharing! P.S. Why shouldn't it be of Greek origin?

Mark, I think your first guess in dating was quite correct: 17th to 18th century.

No hints or contemporary sources on hand grenades seem to exist before the 16th century but I'll try and re-check that.

For anybody interested in similar early grenades, please see my following thread

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=hand+grenades

Best,
Michael

Gavin Nugent · 24th September 2010, 12:13 AM

A most remarkable find and a most remarkable thread bought back to light, thanks for sharing guys.
I was surprised to see just how many of these were excavated in the link provided. Are there indications about the results and effects in combat. I sit and wonder how effective they were compared to the massive effect modern examples have.

Gav

12th September 2010, 06:27 PM	#1
eftihis Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chania Crete Greece Posts: 506	iron hand grenade Hi, i found this rusty old hand grenade here locally together with some small cannon balls. The size and shape reminds me very much hand grenades of the venetian period made from glass. Can anyone determine the age of this piece? Attached Images

23rd September 2010, 11:24 PM	#5
Matchlock (deceased) Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Bavaria, Germany - the center of 15th and 16th century gunmaking Posts: 4,310	Hi eftihis, Great acquisition, that one, and, right: probably Venetian or, in general, North Italian or Austria. Many thanks for sharing! P.S. Why shouldn't it be of Greek origin? Mark, I think your first guess in dating was quite correct: 17th to 18th century. No hints or contemporary sources on hand grenades seem to exist before the 16th century but I'll try and re-check that. For anybody interested in similar early grenades, please see my following thread http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...=hand+grenades Best, Michael Last edited by Matchlock; 23rd September 2010 at 11:43 PM.

24th September 2010, 12:13 AM	#6
Gavin Nugent Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 2,818	Cool A most remarkable find and a most remarkable thread bought back to light, thanks for sharing guys. I was surprised to see just how many of these were excavated in the link provided. Are there indications about the results and effects in combat. I sit and wonder how effective they were compared to the massive effect modern examples have. Gav

12th September 2010, 07:14 PM	#2
fernando Lead Moderator European Armoury Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Portugal Posts: 9,694	Most interesting, I hope the experts have a say on this one!

13th September 2010, 04:47 PM	#3
M ELEY Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: NC, U.S.A. Posts: 2,087	No expert here, but I had to comment- that is a great piece! I have one of the later versions without the raised lip that probably had a wooden plug. Mine dates from 17th-18th c. From the look of the casting and patina to the iron, I'm suspecting this is Medieval, as grenadoes dated back to the 14th c, I believe? Yours would have had a simple long fuse vs the wooden plug of later models. I'm wondering if yours was a shipwreck pick-up?

13th September 2010, 11:19 PM	#4
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Wow! What a thing to find. Brilliant addition to a collection, congratulations!