The aquamanile was a precious vessel containing water for the washing of hands, often in the form of an animal, a mythical creature, a knight, or a human head or bust. The term aquamanile derives from the Latin words aqua (water) and manus (hands) and indicates a type of container known since the 12th century that priests used to wash their hands during the liturgical rite of purification before the Eucharist and that was later often used on the tables of princes for the cleansing of hands during meals. Created with the lost-wax casting technique, aquamaniles were hollow and usually had thin walls: given their function, they had openings where they could be filled and the water could be poured from, and a handle for holding. They were composed of four parts, called body, handle, mouth and spout. The variety of shapes of aquamaniles is related in the 1252 inventory of St. Martin de Mayence, where we read: “Erant uercei diversarum formarum quos manila vocant, eo quod aqua sacerdotum minibus funderetur ex eis, argentei, quidam habentes formam leonum, quedam draconu, avium et griphonum, vel aliorum animalorum quorumcumque”. They could in fact be found in the shape of lions, dragons, birds, griffins or other animals, as we can see from the 380 approximately aquamaniles that are still with us today, 120 of which are in the likeness of a lion. Symbol of strength and authority, the lion was indeed the most common form, and many of the aquamaniles cast in Germany were executed drawing inspiration from the Brunswick Lion, erected in Fig. 3 Acquamanile, Museo Nazionale, Copenhagen
front of the Dankwarderode Castle and the cathedral of Brunswick following the wishes of Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, around 1166 (see fig. 1). These ewers are among the best examples of bronze production in the Middle Ages, of which the most important centres were situated in the northern regions of Germany: the city of Magdeburg acquired a special importance from the middle of the 12th century, while we know of laboratories in Lower Saxony, such as Hildesheim in particular and later Lubeck, between the 13th and 14th century. In Lubeck Johannes Apengeter (1300-1350 circa) was the owner of a workshop of bronze workers from 1332 and 1341: his first known, signed work is the large candle holder with seven arms of the Marienkirche in Kolberg (Pomerania) executed in 1327, raised on three lions which very much resemble our aquamanile (see fig. 2). Other important works by the artist are the baptismal font in the Marienkirche in Lubeck, datable to 1337, and above all the funerary monument of Bishop Henry of Bocholt, who died in 1341. We know from the sources that his foundry not only produced monumental works but also objects of a smaller size. An attribution to this sphere seems convincing, and can be confirmed by comparisons with a similar ewer (see fig. 3) in the National Museum in Copenhagen (Inv. n. 13611), which shows the same posture and the same working of the mane, characterized by thin, deeply incised S-shaped motifs, and with another aquamanile (see fig. 4) which was put up for auction in Paris (Sotheby’s, Paris, 25th November 2008, lot 19) and has been in the Art Institute of Chicago since 2010 (Inv. n. 2010.30), both published by Otto Von Falke and Erich Meyer in their basic study of aquamaniles in 1935 (cit. p. 185,
Fig. 4 Acquamanile, Art Institute, Chicago
respectively nos. 444 e 445).
Comparative literature O. Von Falke, E. Meyer, Romanische Leuchter und Gefässe, Giessgefässe der Gotik, Berlino 1935, pp. 38-96, nn. 265-611, figg. 229-558; U. Mende, E. Cruikshank Dodd, Acquamanile, in “Treccani. Enciclopedia dell’Arte Medievale”, 1991; P. Barnet, P. Dandridge, Lions, Dragons & other beasts, New York 2006; D. Anedda, A. Pala, Acquamanili nella liturgia cristiana (IV-XVi secolo): il bronzo della Pinacoteca Nazionale di Cagliari, in “Anuario de estudios medievales”, n. 44/2, luglio-dicembre 2014, pp. 689-731. 70
CAPOLAVORI DA COLLEZIONI ITALIANE - 1 ottobre 2015