Seen in a few illustrations of feasts and eating utensils are aquamaniles -- a sort of pitcher used for hand-washing. Typical forms are animals, mounted knights or horsemen, and fantasical monsters; most of the surviving examples seem to be metal, but there are several ceramic examples too. (More information can be found in the Florilegium ; The Art of the Medieval Aquamanile is also interesting.)
Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table , an exhibit of the aquamaniles from the Met (several of which are also linked below), was on display at The Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture in New York City through October 15, 2006.
Following are a few examples of aquamaniles from museum collections and from medieval artwork.
Eagle , bronze with silver and copper, late 8th century Iran (also here and here )Peacock , Spain, c. 972The Museum of London's ceramics collection features fragments of ceramic aquamaniles made in England between the 11th and 14th centuries, including acc. nos. A16880 , A22338 , and A16796 .Gryphon , gilded bronze with silver and niello, early 12th century Lower Saxony (also here and here )Horseman , bronze, 12th century Islamic (?)Vaguely zoomorphic liturgical aquamanile (also here ), 12th century PolandCentaur with a frog in his mouth , 12th centuryMan-eating lion , brass, 12th centuryLion , brass, 12th centuryLion , brass, 12th centuryLion , brass, 12th centuryLion , bronze with traces of gilding, 12th centuryGriffin , gilt bronze, Mosan, c. 1150Ceramic ram , made in Scarborough between the late 12th and early 14th century
Ceramic bird , 12th century; painted in a Byzantine faience style, ornamented with green glaze, geometric motifs, and fish scales
Griffin, Germany or Mosan, c. 1130 (V&A 1471-1870 )
Lion , bronze, late 12th century Magdeburg, GermanyLion , ceramic, 12th/13th century (possibly Islamic)Horse and rider , c. 1150-1200Horse and rider (possibly oriental/Islamic), c. 1200Lion trampling vipers , northern Germany c. 1200Lion's head , Lower Saxony, c. 1200Gryphon , Lower Saxony, c. 1200 (also here and here )Sword-bearing centaur with serpents , Germany c. 120013th century aquamaniles at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum: photos here and here
Ceramic horse , 13th century EggenbergCow and Calf attacked by a lion , bronze and silver, early 13th century PersiaCrowned lion , bronze, early 13th century Lower SaxonyKnight on a restless horse , bronze or brass, first half of the 13th centuryBird-Man , bronze, early 13th century southern GermanyLion , gilded bronze, 13th century northern FranceLion , 13th century Flanders or northern GermanyLion , 13th century SaxonyMan on horseback, bronze, 13th century Scandinavia (V&A M.70-1949 )
Horseman , bronze, 13th century England or ScandinaviaKnight on Horseback , bronze, 13th century EnglandA hunter riding a horse , c. 1200A hunter riding a horse , 13th century (found in Slovakia)A hunter riding a horse , 13th century ScandinaviaLion , bronze?, 13th centuryHorse , bronze or brass, Maas, 13th centuryKneeling Man , bronze, 13th century Lower SaxonyLion , copper, 13th century northern GermanyLion , brass, 13th century Flanders or northern GermanyKneeling (lame?) man , Hildesheim, Germany, 13th centuryLion , Lower Saxony, early 13th centuryLion , Lower Saxony, c. 1220-1225Crowned centaur (Chiron?) fighting a dragon , Hildesheim, Germany, 1240-1260 (this , this , and this seems to be more views of the same item)Lion , Lower Saxony, 1240-1260 (also here )Lion , mid-13th century Lower SaxonyWolf (?) with a bird in its mouth and a smaller animal on its back, Germanic, 13th centuryKnight on a saddled horse , bronze, central Europe, c. 1250Lion , brass, Hildesheim, c. 1250 (also here ; or go to LACMA Collections Online and enter AC1992.152.100 into the quicksearch box)Knight on horseback , bronze, Hildesheim, second half of the 13th century (also here )Lion , Lower Saxony, 1250-1300Samson and Lion , leaded brass, mid-13th to early 14th century northern Germany (possibly Hildesheim); also here and here .
Ceramic aquamanile made in northern Austria, c. 1275-1300Unicorn (with a dragon) , Lower Saxony, fourth quarter of the 13th centuryLion , Lower Saxony, 1280-1300Three enamelled basins for aquamaniles, Limoges, 13th century: here , here , and here
Beast , ceramic with green glaze, mid- to late 13th century EnglandMounted Knight , bronze, late 13th century SaxonyA stylized quadruped (probably a lion), brass, 13th-14th centuriesStag from the Cwm Nant Col hoard in Wales, late 13th or early 14th centuryLion , late 13th or beginning of the 14th century, Lower SaxonyUnicorn , bronze, early 14th century Lower SaxonySaddled horse , 14th century Lower Saxony
A man's head , bronze, early 14th century northern Germany (Hildesheim?)Lion , bronze, early 14th century Germany14th century German aquamanile at the Germanisches NationalmuseumLion Lion (Historiska Museet, Sweden)Lion , c. 1350Lion , 14th centuryLion , tinned bronze, 14th centuryHorse with a quadruped on its back , brass, 14th centuryLion , bronze, Lower Saxony c. 1350Lion with dragon-handle , bronze, Germany (Master Bernhuser), last quarter of the 14th centuryLion , and another lion , 14th or 15th centuryAristotle and Phyllis , bronze, late 14th/early 15th century northern GermanyAristotle and Phyllis (also here ), bronze, early 15th century eastern France or southern NetherlandsLion , Lower Saxony, c. 1400 (also here )Lion , Germany, c. 1400Horse , brass, NuremburgLion , brass, Nuremburg, c. 1400Gryphon , Nuremberg, c. 1400 (also here )Horse , Nuremberg, c. 1400Unicorn (with a dog on its back), Nuremberg, 1400-1420 (also here )Knight on horseback , Regensburg, first half of the 15th centuryLion (also here and here ), latten alloy, 15th century Nuremberg15th century aquamaniles at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum: photos here , here , and here
Lion , brass, 15th centuryLion , brass, 15th centuryLion , brass, 15th centuryLion, bronze, 15th-16th century Germany (V&A 561-1872 )
Bust of a young man , brass, 15th centuryHorse , and another horse ; both are 15th century brassHorse , bronze, 15th century GermanyHorse , brass, Flanders or northern GermanyBeast , ceramic with green glaze, 15th century Switzerland (see description )Horse , brass, Germany, c. 1441-1460Saint Martin of Tours dividing his cloak , brass, 16th centuryAquamanile with cuerda seca decoration , Spain, c. 1520Ceramic aquamanile made in 16th century RaerenCeramic aquamanile made in Raeren in the 1570s; has busts of Philip II of Spain and Anne of AustriaSome non-figural lavabos (hanging lavers), 15th-16th centuries, from churches and museums in Belgium: Kerk Sint-Paulus, Vollezele ; Kerk Sint-Petrus en Urbanus, Huise ; Kerk Sint-Marinus, Herk-de-Stad ; Kerk Sint-Leonardus, Zoutleeuw ; Kerk Sint-Eligius, Eine ; Kerk O.L. Vrouw, Lichtaart ; Kerk Sint-Niklaas, Dessel ; Kerk Sint-Willibrordus, Kasterlee ; Kerk Sint-Jan-Baptist, Weelde ; Kerk Sint-Andries, Balen ; Kerk Sint-Trudo, Eksel ; another from Kerk Sint-Trudo, Eskel ; Kerk O.L. Vrouw, Deinze ; Kerk Sint-Martinus, Kerkom ; Kerk Sint-Kwinten, Zonhoven ; Kerk Sint-Laurentius, Bocholt ; Kapel O.L. Vrouw der Bedruketn, Opitter ; Kerk Sint-Odulphus, Borgloon ; Kerk Maria Tenhemelopneming, Zutendaal ; and this , this , this , this , and this at the Museum Vleeshuis in Antwerp; Eglise Saint-Pancrace, Focant ; Eglise Saint-Lambert, Dinant ; Muse Royal de Mariemont, Morlanwelz-Mariemont ; and the collection of J. Frsart in Lige . Also, Cleveland 1965.22 . A similar aquamanile appears in the center panel of the Mérode Altarpiece Werl Altarpiece Madonna and Child this detail of van der Weyden's Annunciation Triptych ), or if it's meant to be seen as a typical element of 15th century Flemish domestic interior. Also V&A M.2669-1931 , M.2676-1931 , M.2-1937 .
Since I've had a few inquiries on where one can obtain aquamaniles ...
