In this episode, we’ll be visiting Aquamanile in the Shape of a Lion at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Welcome to Art, Culture & Books with me, Anthony King.
This aquamanile is from the middle ages. In Latin water is aqua and hand is manus. This kind of ewer was meant to wash your hands hands but also to create a bit of fun. The museum tells us: “Probably made in Lower Saxony in the Hildesheim area, c.1250-1350; the left hind leg and tail are of later date. Brass. Zoomorphic aquamaniles (vessels for pouring water) were made in pottery and metalwork. Lions may have been used for liturgical or a domestic purpose. This example later belonged to the painter, Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828-82) Given by Charles Fairfax Murray”
By Anthony King (c)