Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion

Unknown

ca. 1400 · Copper alloy · The Cloisters

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). Broad-chested, mane protruding, and mouth open, the lion is unabashedly proud and alert. To create this exceptional king of the beasts, the artist first made a rough clay model and then molded wax around it. Next he coated the wax with a mixture of brick, clay, and ashes before melting the wax to form a space that could be filled with molten metal.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1400

Medium

Copper alloy

Culture

German

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1994