The crowned centaur (probably Chiron, the king of the centaurs),wielding a sword in his right hand, appears about to slay the dragon attacking his left side. Already representing a fantastic beast, the form here is further enriched by the dragon whose head and neck, grasped in the centaur’s left hand, form the spout.
#9792. Kids: Aquamanile in the Form of a Crowned Centaur Fighting a Dragon
This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.
Artwork Details
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Aquamanile in the Form of a Crowned Centaur Fighting a Dragon
Date:1200–1225
Geography:Made in possibly Hildesheim, Lower Saxony, Germany
Culture:German
Medium:Copper alloy
Dimensions:Overall: 14 3/8 x 13 3/4 x 5 in., 8.347lb. (36.5 x 34.3 x 12.7 cm, 3786g) Overall PD: 14 3/8 (at front feet) x 5 x 13 3/4 in. (36.5 (at front feet) x 12.7 x 35 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Copper alloy
Credit Line:Rogers Fund, 1910
Accession Number:10.37.2
[ Julius Böhler Kunsthandlung, Munich (sold 1910) ]
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. "Arts of the Middle Ages: A Loan Exhibition," February 17–March 24, 1940.
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.
Los Angeles. J. Paul Getty Museum. "The Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World," May 14–August 28, 2019.
Arts of the Middle Ages: A Loan Exhibition. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, 1940. no. 287, p. 81, pl. XXXII.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. Guide to the Collections: Medieval Art. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1962. fig. 36.
Schrader, J. L. "A Medieval Bestiary." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 44, no. 1 (Summer 1986). p. 33.
Benton, Janetta Rebold. The Medieval Menagerie: Animals in the Art of the Middle Ages. New York: Abbeville Press, 1992. pp. 27–29, fig. 15.
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. 9, pp. 98–101.
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. 9, pp. 42, 48–49, 54–56, fig. 3–17, 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. 9, pp. 57–58, 60–63, fig. 4–9, 4-10, Featured in Table 1 and Table 2 of chapter.
Brandt, Michael, ed. Bild und Bestie: Hildesheimer Bronzen der Stauferzeit. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2008. no. 33, pp. 320–322.
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. 33, pp. 86, 93–94, 97.
Morrison, Elizabeth, ed. Book of beasts: the bestiary in the medieval world. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019. no. 61, pp. 181, 212.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
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 complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
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.
