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Lot Essay
The aquamanile was an important status symbol in mediaeval Europe and was used in both secular and religious contexts. A ceremonial vessel, it was used to pour water over the hands of guests or celebrants into an accompanying basin. The term itself comes from the latin words ‘aqua’ and ‘manus’ signifying ‘water' and ‘hand'. It is thought that most aquamaniles were probably made of pottery, but few of these have survived due to the fragility of the material.
Bronze aquamaniles take a variety of forms including human heads, dragons, birds and horses. However by far the most popular was the lion, symbol of strength and royal authority. Most of the German lion aquamaniles take as their prototype the celebrated Brunswick Lion originally erected in front of Dankwarderode Castle and the cathedral of Brunswick by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, in around 1166 AD. This monumental bronze, standing almost three metres in length, has a luxuriant mane, deep chest and stylised overall form which heavily influenced examples such as the present lot.
The more upright stance of this aquamanile corresponds to two other lion aquamaniles published by Falk and Meyer in their seminal work on romanesque candlesticks and vessels (loc. cit.). Housed in the Märkisches Museum in Berlin and the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Frankfurt, these also share the tufted mane which has been elaborately chased and the drilled eyes which are slightly down-turned at the outer corners. Falke and Meyer catalogue both these aquamaniles as ‘Hildesheim, second half 13th century’. The one aspect in which the present lot differs from those examples is with the rising forehead and tufts of mane on top of the head between the ears. This serves to frame the face more centrally and in this respect the face of the present aquamanile resembles the faces of bronze door handles of the same period. In particular, the pronounced eyebrows, the treatment of the eyes and the nose of the aquamanile all correspond closely to the lion mask door handles of the west doors of the Elisabethkirche in Marburg (see Mende, loc. cit.). The Elisabethkirche was dedicated in 1283 which serves as further confirmation of the dating of the present lot to the second half of the 13th century.
Bronze aquamaniles take a variety of forms including human heads, dragons, birds and horses. However by far the most popular was the lion, symbol of strength and royal authority. Most of the German lion aquamaniles take as their prototype the celebrated Brunswick Lion originally erected in front of Dankwarderode Castle and the cathedral of Brunswick by Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria, in around 1166 AD. This monumental bronze, standing almost three metres in length, has a luxuriant mane, deep chest and stylised overall form which heavily influenced examples such as the present lot.
The more upright stance of this aquamanile corresponds to two other lion aquamaniles published by Falk and Meyer in their seminal work on romanesque candlesticks and vessels (loc. cit.). Housed in the Märkisches Museum in Berlin and the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Frankfurt, these also share the tufted mane which has been elaborately chased and the drilled eyes which are slightly down-turned at the outer corners. Falke and Meyer catalogue both these aquamaniles as ‘Hildesheim, second half 13th century’. The one aspect in which the present lot differs from those examples is with the rising forehead and tufts of mane on top of the head between the ears. This serves to frame the face more centrally and in this respect the face of the present aquamanile resembles the faces of bronze door handles of the same period. In particular, the pronounced eyebrows, the treatment of the eyes and the nose of the aquamanile all correspond closely to the lion mask door handles of the west doors of the Elisabethkirche in Marburg (see Mende, loc. cit.). The Elisabethkirche was dedicated in 1283 which serves as further confirmation of the dating of the present lot to the second half of the 13th century.