Aquamanilia, from the Latin words meaning "water" and "hands," served to pour water over the hands of priests before celebrating Mass and of diners at table. This aquamanile, in the form of a horse and rider, exemplifies the courtly ideals of knighthood that pervaded Western medieval culture and influenced objects intended for daily use. It depicts a type of armor that disappeared toward the third quarter of the thirteenth century. Unfortunately, the shield—which probably displayed the arms of the owner—and the lance are no longer extant.
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Title:Aquamanile in the Form of a Mounted Knight
Date:ca. 1250
Geography:Made in probably Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany
Culture:German
Medium:Copper alloy
Dimensions:Overall: 14 11/16 x 12 7/8 x 5 5/8 in. (37.3 x 32.7 x 14.3 cm) Weight PD: 146.5oz. (4153g)
Classification:Metalwork-Copper alloy
Credit Line:Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number:64.101.1492
Rev. Randolph Humphrey Berens, London (by 1904–sold 1910); his sale Christie, Manson & Woods, London (December 13, 1910, no. 62; to Walker); R. W. M. Walker, Esq., London (1910–until d. 1945); his posthumous sale, Christie, Manson & Woods, London (July 25, 1945, no. 10; to Brummer through H. Blairman); [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1945–sold 1946 to Untermyer)]; Irwin Untermyer, New York (1946–until 1964)
The Katonah Gallery. "Medieval Images: a glimpse into the symbolism and reality of the Middle ages," May 12–May 21, 1978.
Reno. Sierra Nevada Museum of Art. "Culture of the Middle Ages: a festival of the medieval arts," December 8–31, 1978.
Aspen Center for the Visual Arts. "Medieval Images," November 25, 1979–January 27, 1980.
Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux. "Profil de Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York - de Ramses á Picasso," May 15–September 1, 1981.
New York. Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. "Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages. Vessels for Church and Table," July 12, 2006–October 15, 2006.
Hildesheim, Germany. Dom-Museum Hildesheim (Cathedral Museum). "Bild und Bestie : Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit," May 31, 2008–October 5, 2008.
Dom-Museum Hildesheim (Cathedral Museum). "Bild und Bestie – Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit," May 31–October 5, 2008.
Morgan Library & Museum. "The Crusader Bible: A Gothic Masterpiece," October 17, 2014–January 1, 2015.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven," September 26, 2016–January 8, 2017.
Musée du Louvre Abu Dhabi. "Furusiyya: The art of chivalry. East-West 12th-15th centuries," February 19, 2020–October 18, 2020.
"Collections Visited: Mr. Randolph Berens's Collection at Princes Gardens." The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors 8 (1904). p. 84, ill. p. 81.
Catalogue of Objects of Art: Porcelain, Embroideries & Brocades, being a portion of the collection of Randolph Berens, Esq. [...]. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, December 13, 1910. no. 62, p. 10.
Nelson, Philip. "Equestrian Aquamaniles." Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 67 (1915). no. 6, pp. 80, 82–83.
Nelson, Philip. Equestrian Aquamaniles. Liverpool, 1916. no. 6, pp. 5, 7–8, [reprint of Nelson 1915].
"The Connoisseur Bookshelf." The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors 56 (January–April 1920). ill. p. 262.
Laking, Guy Francis. A Record of European Armour and Arms Through Seven Centuries. Vol. 1. London: G. Bell & Sons, 1920. pp. 271–72, fig. 315a, b.
Rinder, Frank. "Cameron Etchings: A Supplement." The Print-Collector's Quarterly 11, no. 1 (February 1924). p. 59.
Falke, Otto von, and Erich Meyer. Romanische Leuchter und Gefässe, Giessgefässe der Gotik. Denkmäler deutscher Kunst. Berlin: Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft, 1935. no. 297, pp. 46, 107, pl. 115, fig. 264.
Nelson, Philip. "An Equestrian Aquamanile of the Thirteenth Century." The Antiquaries Journal 19, no. 3 (July 1939). p. 300.
Greig, T. P. "In the Auction Rooms: The R W. M. Walker Collection." The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors 116 (July–December 1945). p. 66.
The Collection of Decorative Furniture, Objects of Art, and Faience formed by the late R. W. M. Walker, Esq.. London: Christie, Manson & Woods, July 25–26, 1945. no. 107, p. 10, ill. p. 12.
Hackenbroch, Yvonne. Bronzes Other Metalwork and Sculpture in the Irwin Untermyer Collection. Irwin Untermyer Collection, Vol. 5. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1962. pp. xxxviii, 25, fig. 95, pl. 92.
Gómez-Moreno, Carmen, ed. Medieval Images: A Glimpse into the Symbolism and Reality of the Middle Ages. Katonah: Katonah Museum of Art, 1978. no. 1, pp. 3, 17.
Boardman, Phillip C., Marcia Cohn Growdon, and Francis X. Hartigan, ed. Culture of the Middle Ages: A Festival of the Medieval Arts. Treasures of the Middle Ages. Reno, Nevada: Sierra Nevada Museum of Art, 1978. no. 8.
Profil du Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York, de Ramsès à Picasso. Paris: Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, 1981. no. 61, p. 63.
Lockner, Hermann P. Messing: ein Handbuch über Messinggerät des 15.-17. Jahrhunderts. Munich: Klinkhardt & Biermann, 1982. p. 29, fig. XV.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1983. no. 34, p. 351.
Shepard, Mary B. Europe in the Middle Ages, edited by Charles T. Little, and Timothy B. Husband. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. p. 99, pl. 91.
Nicolle, David. The Crusades. Essential Histories. Osprey Publishing, 1988. p. 59.
Gaeta Bertelà, Giovanna, and Beatrice Paolozzi Strozzi, ed. Arti del Medio Evo e del Rinascimento: Omaggio ai Carrand, 1889–1989. Florence: Museo Nazionale del Bargello, 1989. p. 313.
Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. no. 34, p. 385.
Norris, Michael. Medieval Art: A Resource for Educators. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. pp. 20–21, fig. 12.
Wixom, William D. "Medieval Sculpture at the Metropolitan: 800 to 1400." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 62, no. 4 (2005). p. 40.
Barnet, Peter, and Pete Dandridge, ed. Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 11, pp. 106–109.
Dandridge, Pete. "Exquisite Objects, Prodigious Technique: Aquamanilia, Vessels of the Middle Ages." In Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table, edited by Peter Barnet, and Pete Dandridge. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 11, pp. 34–35, 38, 40, 48, 54–56, Appears in Table 1 of chapter.
Newman, Richard. "Analysis of Core and Investment Samples from Some Aquamanilia." In Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table, edited by Peter Barnet, and Pete Dandridge. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 11, pp. 57, 62–63, Featured in Table 1 and Table 2 of chapter.
Brandt, Michael, ed. Bild und Bestie: Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2008. no. 37, pp. 332–334.
Dandridge, Pete. "Gegossene Phantasien: Mittelalterliche Aquamanilien und ihre Herstellung." In Bild und Bestie: Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit, edited by Michael Brandt. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2008. no. 37, pp. 77, 83, 93.
Krohm, Hartmut, ed. Der Naumburger Meister: Bildhauer und Architekt im Europa der Kathedralen. Vol. 2. Petersberg: Michael Imhof Verlag, 2011. pp. 1042–43.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012. p. 192.
Brennan, Christine E. "The Brummer Gallery and the Business of Art." Journal of the History of Collections 27, no. 3 (November 2015). pp. 461–62.
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Melanie Holcomb, ed. Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. no. 116, p. 219.
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Melanie Holcomb. "Holy War and the Power of Art." In Jerusalem 1000–1400: Every People Under Heaven, edited by Barbara Drake Boehm, and Melanie Holcomb. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2016. p. 199.
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