Aquamanilia (14)

I am proofreading a book for the Getty Museum called Guidelines for the Technical Examination of Bronze Sculpture. It is, as you might imagine, a bit of a slog, with chapters on such scintillating topics as casting processes, casting defects, repairs, tool marks, gilding and plating, and patina, never mind "Radiography and Tomography for the Visualization of the Metal Wall and the Interior." So I was happy today to get past the technical discussions and into a handful of case studies, including "Exquisite Objects, Prodigious Technique: Aquamanilia, Vessels of the European Middle Ages." The featured object there was a little German lion from the twelfth century:

I was smitten! As the text explains, 

Aquamanilia are zoomorphic or anthropomorphic vessels for the washing of hands at the table. Cast from copper alloys, they emerged as a distinct artistic form in the twelfth century in Lower Saxony and continued to be fabricated in various areas of Germany for the next three centuries. They were filled via lidded openings, generally at the tops of the animal’s or rider’s head, with the spouts either integrally cast as part of the figure’s mouth or separately fabricated as a spigot and mechanically set into its chest.

Ritual hand washing was a key part of the Mass in medieval times. More practically, these vessels were also used at mealtime in monastic refectories and in the homes of nobility—hand washing being an important hygienic practice in days of shared dishes and few utensils. The little lion above would have been picked up and the water poured out of his mouth, while the ones below with spigots would have sat on the table, stationary.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art has one of the best collections of aquamanilia. Here are a few of them. I find them delightful. (Click to see large. And if you want to see other views and close-ups of these vessels, or other examples of aquamanilia, go to the Met page.)

Horse, Nuremberg, ca. 1400

Rooster, Lower Saxony, Germany, 1200s

Young Falconer on Horseback, Lower Saxony,
Germany, 1200s (the left hand once supported a falcon)

Griffin, Nuremberg, 1425–50

Dragon, North German, ca. 1200

Unicorn, Nuremberg, 1425–50

Samson and the Lion, Northern European, 1380–1400

Aristotle and Phyllis, South Netherlandish,
late 14th or early 15th century
From the Met's description: "The subject of this
celebrated example is the moralizing legend of
Aristotle and Phyllis, which achieved popularity in the
late Middle Ages. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher and tutor
of Alexander the Great, allowed himself to be humiliated
by the seductive Phyllis as a lesson to the young ruler,
who had succumbed to her wiles and neglected the affairs of state.
Encouraging Alexander to witness his folly, Aristotle explained
that if he, an old man, could be so easily deceived, the potential
consequences for a young man were even more perilous.
The ribald subject indicates that this aquamanile was made
for a domestic setting, where it would have doubled as an object of
entertainment for guests at the table."

These vessels remind me of the hedgehog aryballoi (ancient Greek perfume containers) I posted about a while back. Here's the link, if you missed them. They still make me smile!