Cleveland Museum of Art

Lion Aquamanile

Date

1200–1250

Medium

bronze: cast, chased, and punched

Culture

Germany, Lower Saxony, Hildesheim, Gothic period, first half 13th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

An aquamanile is a water vessel used for washing hands both at church altars and at the dinner tables of upper-class patrons. They often took the form of fantastic beasts such as dragons and unicorns or animals such as horses, birds, dogs, and lions, like this one. The handle of this vessel is in the shape of a dragon with a long curving tail.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.