This aquamanile is distinguished by the lion’s turned head, which grasps the neck of the dragon in its jaws. The dragon here serves as both handle and spout.
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Title:Aquamanile in the Form of a Lion
Date:ca. 1200
Culture:North German
Medium:Copper alloy
Dimensions:Overall: 9 1/8 x 8 15/16 x 3 3/4 in. (23.2 x 22.7 x 9.5 cm) Thickness PD: 3/50-1/10 in. (0.15-0.25 cm) Weight PD: 84.3oz. (2391g)
Classification:Metalwork-Copper alloy
Credit Line:Gift of Mrs. Leo S. Bing, 1952
Accession Number:52.24.1
Abraham Pickert, Nuremberg (until 1882); J. M. Heberle, Cologne (May 15-23, 1882, no. 1169); Delannoy, Paris (?); Mrs. Leo S. Bing, New York (from at least 1938); [ Brummer Gallery, Paris and New York (on consigment 1938–1939)]; Mrs. Leo S. Bing, New York (1939–1952)
The Katonah Gallery. "Medieval Images: a glimpse into the symbolism and reality of the Middle ages," May 12–May 21, 1978.
Aspen Center for the Visual Arts. "Medieval Images," November 25, 1979–January 27, 1980.
New York. Bard Graduate Center: Decorative Arts, Design History, Material Culture. "Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages. Vessels for Church and Table," July 12, 2006–October 15, 2006.
Alexandre, Arsène. "La Collection de M. Delannoy, Homme du Moyen Âge." La Renaissance de l'Art Français et des Industries de Luxe 7, no. 2 (February 1924). p. 58.
Collection Delannoy. Paris: Maison Jansen, 1924 (?). unnumbered pl.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Recent Accessions." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 10, no. 9 (May 1952). p. 261.
"Additions to the Collections." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin: Eighty-Third Annual Report of the Trustees for the Year 1952 12, no. 1 (Summer 1953). p. 17.
Gómez-Moreno, Carmen, ed. Medieval Images: A Glimpse into the Symbolism and Reality of the Middle Ages. Katonah: Katonah Museum of Art, 1978. no. 2, pp. 4, 17.
Barnet, Peter, and Pete Dandridge, ed. Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 4, pp. 78–81.
Dandridge, Pete. "Exquisite Objects, Prodigious Technique: Aquamanilia, Vessels of the Middle Ages." In Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table, edited by Peter Barnet, and Pete Dandridge. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 4, pp. 40–41, 54–56, fig. 3–2, Appears in Table 1 of chapter.
Newman, Richard. "Analysis of Core and Investment Samples from Some Aquamanilia." In Lions, Dragons, & Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages, Vessels for Church and Table, edited by Peter Barnet, and Pete Dandridge. New York: Bard Graduate Center for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design, and Culture, 2006. no. 4, pp. 57, 62–63, Featured in Table 1 and Table 2 of chapter.
Mende, Ursula. Die mittelalterlichen Bronzen im Germanischen Nationalmuseum: Bestandskatalog. Nuremberg: Germanisches Nationalmuseum, 2013. p. 182 n. 7, fig. 213.
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