The lion, because of its exceptional strength, was associated in the Middle Ages with Christ and was the animal most frequently employed for aquamanilia. The vessel was filled through the opening at the top of the head, and water was poured from the spout in the mouth.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion
Date:12th century
Culture:North German
Medium:Copper alloy, glass inlays
Dimensions:Overall: 7 11/16 x 8 5/8 x 3 7/16 in. (19.5 x 21.9 x 8.7 cm) Thickness PD: 9/100-1/10 in. (0.22-0.25 cm) Weight PD: 72.9oz. (2067g)
Classification:Metalwork-Copper alloy
Credit Line:Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number:64.101.1491
Alexander M. Bing, New York (sold 1937); [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (1937–1939)]; Irwin Untermyer, New York (1939–until 1964)
New York. The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Medieval Art from Private Collections," October 30, 1968–March 30, 1969.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Highlights of the Untermyer Collection of English and Continental Decorative Arts," September 29, 1977–May 21, 1978.
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.
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. 94, pl. 91.
Gómez-Moreno, Carmen. Medieval Art from Private Collections: A Special Exhibition at The Cloisters, October 30, 1968 through January 5, 1969. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1968. no. 102.
Draper, James David, ed. Highlights of the Untermyer Collection of English and continental decorative arts. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977. p. 150, no. 284.
Profil du Metropolitan Museum of Art de New York, de Ramsès à Picasso. Paris: Galerie des Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux, 1981. no. 60, p. 63.
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. "'Beasts of Every Land and Clime': An Introduction to Medieval 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. 1, p. 3.
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. 1, pp. 66–69.
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. 1, pp. 35, 38–40, 48, 54–56, fig. 3–1, Appears in Table 1 of chapter.
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. pp. 79–83, 94; p. 94, no. 80; p. 96, no. 88, fig. 5–2.
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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.
