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Source Description
The name of this form of pitcher derives from the Latin "aqua" meaning water, and "manus," meaning hand; it was used to wash the hands both in ritual contexts and at table. In the Middle Ages, food was eaten with the fingers so that hands needed frequent washing. This aquamanile is one of the few surviving examples to fill two purposes: holding water and providing light. The outstretched hands of the centaur (half man, half horse) would have held two candlesticks. The design of the faucet and its little mythological animal handle is of Syrian origin.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
26002
label
Aquamanile in the Form of a Hybrid Creature
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
5
Source metadata
id
26002
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Aquamanile in the Form of a Hybrid Creature
description
The name of this form of pitcher derives from the Latin "aqua" meaning water, and "manus," meaning hand; it was used to wash the hands both in ritual contexts and at table. In the Middle Ages, food was eaten with the fingers so that hands needed frequent washing. This aquamanile is one of the few surviving examples to fill two purposes: holding water and providing light. The outstretched hands of the centaur (half man, half horse) would have held two candlesticks. The design of the faucet and its little mythological animal handle is of Syrian origin.
provenance
Marquise de Ganay, née Ridgway, Paris; Arnold Seligmann, Rey et Cie., Marquise de Ganay Estate Sale, Paris, 1929; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929 by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1450-1500 (Late Medieval)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
aquamaniles
imageCount
5
pageCount
5
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
29
height
28.7
depth
10.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 11 7/16 x L: 11 5/16 x D: 4 1/16 in. (29 x 28.7 x 10.32 cm)
Source extras
cul
Medieval European
style
Gothic
med
bronze
creator_ids
6211
collection_ids
MED
REN
exhibition_ids
796
3310
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
1780ec3cb1b17382
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
7dd09bf5ee41a66d
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
9eb0c9e1e3aaea03
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
4
type
photo
mediaId
f60fffe94f626c4a
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
5
type
photo
mediaId
18c590c6277f319e
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no