Lion Aquamanile
Unknown Artist
1200–1250
Medium
bronze: cast, chased, and punched
Dimensions
26.4 × 29 × 15 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Chester D. Tripp in honor of Chester D. Tripp
Accession Number
1972.167
About this artwork
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.