Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion
Medium
Copper alloy
Dimensions
25.5 × 28.8 × 11.8 cm (10 1/16 × 11 1/4 × 4 3/4 in.)
Classification
decorative arts
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
200644
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
As the name suggests, an aquamanile—from the Latin for water (aqua) and hand (manus)—is a ewer intended for hand washing. While such vessels were used in both sacred and secular rituals during the Middle Ages, they were also inventive sculptural objects. They usually featured animal forms that could be either whimsical or imposing. This aquamanile, produced by a northern German artist around 1350, takes the shape of a lion, but incorporates three other creatures: a dog that is locked in the lion...