Aquamanile
CultureGerman
Datelate 14th-early 15th century
MediumBrass
DimensionsOverall: 12 1/2 × 12 inches (31.75 × 30.48 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust
Object number43-22
On View
On viewGallery Location
- 106
Collections
DescriptionAquamanile in dinanderie. In form of standing lion with raised head, tail curved over back. Open mouth with traces of red paint. Spout in form of small hald, center of chest and covered opening on top of head.Exhibition HistoryWichita Art Museum, “Civilization Revisited,” December 4, 1971-January 30, 1972.
“Rhode Island School: Brass Exhibition,” February 1941.This vessel, an aquamanile, derives its name from the Latin words aqua meaning water, and manile meaning something used on or for the hand. The vessel was used in religious and secular ceremonies to hold water for hand washing. Aquamanili are usually in the form of a human figure, a mythical creature or an animal such as this lion. The lion was known to Europe mainly through classical and Near Eastern examples. Water was poured from the aquamanile through the spout shaped as a small lion's head located on the lion's chest.
With Glückselig, Vienna, by August 17, 1931 [1];
Purchased from Glückselig by Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York, stock no. P8092, August 17, 1931-December 13, 1943;
Purchased from Brummer, through Harold Woodbury Parsons, by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1943.
NOTES:
[1] The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloisters Library and Archive, Brummer Gallery Records, Gothic and Renaissance bronzes, dinanderie, iron, ivory, and silver, Object inventory card number P8092.
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