Ritual hand-washing vessels known as aquamanilia were essential, practical objects in medieval Europe. The term aquamanile comes from the Latin word “aqua,” meaning water, and “manus,” hand. They were used in both religious and secular settings. Priests used them to pour water during liturgies. Aristocrats and wealthy merchants used aquamanilia as showy pouring vessels during banquets.
Aquamanilia were the first vessels created during Europe’s Middle Ages. Usually cast in the medium of copper alloy, the lost-wax process was used: Molten metal was poured into a wax mold that was melted with a cavity in the shape of the animal. Artisans engraved surface details after the form was cast. Although hollow-cast animal receptacles were made in the latter part of the Roman civilization and the early Byzantine era, scholars consider the medieval aquamanilia to be innovative adaptations, not copies.
Hundreds of aquamanilia produced from the 12th through 15th centuries have survived to the present day. Prominent manufacturing centers were in northern Germany, especially Lower Saxony (circa 1200–1350) and the southern German city of Nuremberg (circa 1400).
Model of Chivalry
The most frequent aquamanile form is the lion. Indeed, around one-third of surviving aquamanilia are of this creature. During the Middle Ages, the lion was a popular symbolic image. Heraldry considered it a paradigm of chivalry, and religion associated it with Christ. Lion aquamanilia were created in different forms throughout the centuries.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, which holds one of the largest and most significant aquamanilia collections, has an early North German example dating to the 12th century made of copper alloy and glass inlays. It has the typical qualities of an opening at the top of the head for water to fill the ewer with a spout located in the animal’s mouth.
The Walters Art Museum has an unusual lion aquamanile from the late 13th or early 14th century. Made of brass, it features a Hebrew inscription: “Blessed be the King of the Universe, who has instructed us to wash our hands.” The aquamanile, perhaps German or Dutch, may have been used for ceremonies in a synagogue or Jewish home.
Lions were occasionally juxtaposed with mythical creatures. At the Art Institute of Chicago, an aquamanile in the form of a lion from around 1325 to 1375, shows a lion and three additional figures. The lion’s jaw closes around a dog while a serpentine creature constitutes the feline’s tail. The vessel’s handle is composed of a basilisk or winged dragon.
A spectacular example of a hybrid lion aquamanile is at The Met Cloisters. This circa-1400 lion has a proud broad chest, majestic mane, and energetic body. The piece, radiating with feline power and strength, was likely cast in Nuremberg.
Mythological Pitchers
Aquamanilia of imaginary beasts include dragons, unicorns, and griffins. A dragon version at The Met Cloisters, from around 1200, includes finely realized details like chased scales. This visually striking aquamanile was structured so that the dragon’s body is supported by its wing tips at back and legs in the front. The handle is fashioned from the dragon’s curved tail, which has an opening for water that is now missing its hinged cover. The dragon’s face includes arched eyebrows and short engraved lines around the eyes. Caught between his mouth is a hapless hooded human. After lions, dragons and horses were the most popular shapes for aquamanilia.
At the same museum is a unicorn aquamanile, dated to around 1425 to 1450, with a tail made of flames. This characteristic is typical of aquamanilia made in Nuremberg. A noticeable inclusion is the spigot on the unicorn’s chest. Most aquamanilia made after the 1400s include the mechanism. The feature suggests that the vessel was designed to be stationary.
The Met’s aquamanile in the form of a griffin dates to the same time period and was likely made in the same workshop as the unicorn. The wonderfully rendered outstretched wings were cast separately. This large aquamanile would have been an especially splendid table decoration during a banquet. Examples such as this were a conspicuous exhibition of wealth.
The lavishly decorated aquamanile in the form of a griffin, now at the Museum of Fine Arts in Vienna, was used during Mass by a priest. Made circa 1120 to 1130, it’s considered one of the earliest surviving aquamanile. The fine materials used to make it are gilt bronze, garnet, damascened silver (a technique of inlaying silver into a darkened steel background), and niello (a black metallic compound used to fill a design incised in metal).
Roosters and Horses
Another charming aquamanile at The Met Cloisters is of a rooster. The naturalistically detailed bird balances on tiny talons, an impressive artistic achievement. The rooster’s crowing beak is the spout. His tail feathers, which conceal an opening for the aquamanile to be filled, splay magnificently. The expertly textured engraving of the feathers and modeled beak, comb, eyes, and wattle lead scholars to believe it was made in Lower Saxony in the second half of the 13th century.The cock was a popular subject in both secular and religious art during the Middle Ages. Inspiration came from the rooster in the biblical story of Saint Peter’s denial of Jesus, medieval fables, and Chaucer’s “The Nun’s Priest’s Tale.”
An aquamanile that exemplifies medieval times, specifically courtly life, is that of a knight on horseback. These equestrian compositions feature realistic renderings of arms and armor. A circa 1250 example at The Met, an aquamanile in the form of a mounted knight, shows a horseman wearing armor that can be dated by experts.
Exploring the aquamanile bestiary reveals a playful side of medieval art, intertwined with the era’s societal and religious customs. The aquamanilia here, imbued with expert craftsmanship and artistic imagination, were elevated by their makers from utilitarian objects into fine art.
