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Lion Aquamanile

Ewer
ca. 1220-1240 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Germany (made)
Lower Saxony (made)

This ewer in the form of a lion is a development of a medieval tradition of casting representations of animals and fabulous creatures in brass.


Object details

Categories
Access_to_Images 2003
Metalwork
SCRAN
Object type
Ewer
TitleLion Aquamanile
Materials and techniques
Bronze
Bronze
Brief description
Lion Aquamanile, bronze, Germany (Lower Saxony), ca. 1220-1240
Physical description
Bronze ewer in the shape of a lion with a spout protruding from his mouth, and a lizard handle on the back
Dimensions
  • Length: 19cm
  • Height: 16.2cm
  • Width: 6.5cm
Dimensions were taken by SCP on 08.12.14 for Bronze Zoo: A Sculptural Menagerie
Object history
Purchased from the firm of Abraham Pickert, Nuremberg, for £20, 1871. Previously in the collection of Dr Friedrich Hahn, Hannover (see Norbert Jopek chapter in Bild und Bestie). Handle may have been restored (see 435-1906).
Historical context
This type of ewer is called an aquamanile, and is used for pouring water over the hands of Priests.
Subjects depicted
Lion
Lizard
Summary
This ewer in the form of a lion is a development of a medieval tradition of casting representations of animals and fabulous creatures in brass.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington Museum, acquired during the Year 1872. London, 1873, p. 46.
  • Fortnum, C. Drury E. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Bronzes of European Origin in the South Kensington Museum. London, 1876, p. 113.
  • Falke, Otto von, and Erich Meyer. Bronzegeräte des Mittelalters. Band I. Romanische Leuchter und Gefässe, Giessgefässe der Gotik. Berlin, 1935 (reprinted Berlin, 1983), p. 65, no. 398, fig. 371.
  • Jopek, Norbert. “ ‘… Getting rarer every day’. Bemerkungen zu Sammlungen mittelalterlicher Bronzegeräte im 19. Jahrhundert.” In Brandt 2008: 229-35, pp. 231-32, fig. 15-3.
Collection
Metalwork Collection
Accession number
561-1872

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Record createdFebruary 11, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O92642/lion-aquamanile-ewer-unknown/
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