Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Aquamanile in the Form of a Soldier on Horseback

early 15th century
Not on view
This elaborate water vessel was intended for handwashing. A specialty of metalworkers in German-speaking lands for centuries—from the twelfth to the fifteenth—they are called aquamanilia, from the Latin words for water (aqua) and hand (manus).

A clue to the date of this figure is the rider’s helmet, a type without visor that came into fashion in northern Italy around 1410.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Aquamanile in the Form of a Soldier on Horseback
  • Date: early 15th century
  • Geography: Made in Nuremberg, Germany
  • Culture: German
  • Medium: Copper alloy
  • Dimensions: 10 9/16 × 9 15/16 × 3 3/4 in., 4.6 lb. (26.8 × 25.2 × 9.5 cm, 2086g)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Copper alloy
  • Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1947
  • Object Number: 47.101.54
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg, Pen and ink, watercolor, gold and silver washes; paper bound in gold-tooled leather, German, Nuremberg
Album of Tournaments and Parades in Nuremberg
German, Nuremberg
late 16th–mid-17th century
Aquamanile in the Form of a Mounted Knight, Copper alloy, German
Aquamanile in the Form of a Mounted Knight
German
ca. 1250
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564), Kunz Lochner German, Steel, brass, leather, German, Nuremberg
Armor of Emperor Ferdinand I (1503–1564)
Armorer Kunz Lochner
dated 1549
Aquamanile in the Form of Aristotle and Phyllis, Bronze; Quaternary copper alloy (approx. 72% copper, approx. 17% zinc,<br/>approx. 6% lead, approx. 3% tin)., South Netherlandish
Aquamanile in the Form of Aristotle and Phyllis
South Netherlandish
late 14th or early 15th century
Altar Frontal with Man of Sorrows and Saints, Wool, linen, and metallic thread (gilt membrane on silk) on linen, German
Altar Frontal with Man of Sorrows and Saints
German
ca. 1465

Related Content

Perspectives

Articles, audio, and video from The Met's online magazine.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.