Aquamanile. Vessel for Watering

Bronze aquamanile (portable hand basin, Latin aquaemanalis, aqua – water, manus – hand) in the form of a hollow, realistically reproduced figure of a lion. The front part of the animal's body is decorated with embossed wavy ribbons – a conventional image of a mane. The embossed tail falls between the hind legs and is located on the left side. The end of the tail is designed as a three-petaled palmette. Pupils are marked with round recesses – nests for inlay. At the top of the head between the upright ears there is a rectangular opening and two loops for a hinged lid (the lid is lost). The object was found in the city of Chernihiv at the end of the 19th century. It comes from the collection of Bohdan and Varvara Khanenko. The aquamanile was made in Northern Germany or the Netherlands and dates back to the first half of the 13th century. Researchers believe that the identified specimen belongs to the North German aquaemanalis of the 13th century, closely related to the group of aquaemanalis-lions from the workshop of the city of Hildesheim (Lower Saxony). Two more similar vessels are known: one was found in the city of Leeuwarden (Netherlands), the other comes from a private collection in the city of Bremen. The sample from Leeuwarden is decorated with the same relief bands on the chest. The aquamanile from Bremen has rock crystal-encrusted eyes and a flower-embossed neck. In all three samples, the handle is formed by a simple flat ribbon.
Once in Rus, aquaemanalis settled at monasteries and churches, they were used during the Eucharistic rite. The aquaemanalis were also used by representatives of the nobility in social life during banquets for ceremonial washing of hands.