The previous material in this series about miniatures with "killing babies" has caused positive responses from readers of "VO" and wishes to continue it. I must say that I myself really enjoy comparing medieval miniatures and seeing how the images on them change year after year. New details are added, the manner of the image changes … The whole story seems to float before your eyes. But I'm also interested in, let's say, more material objects of the historical heritage of the past, for which "you can hold on". And they, too, can tell us a lot.
Today we will turn for this to aquamanilas - wonderful examples of the material culture of the Middle Ages, unfortunately, little known to our domestic public, and so much so that literally everyone I asked about this could not give an exact answer. "Something to do with water!" - they said, focusing on the words "aqua", but scuba gear also begins with "aqua", but it has nothing to do with the Middle Ages. So, what are these same aquamanilas and how do they relate to the medieval military culture, which is just described in the materials of this series?
Aquamanilas (in Russia they were also called "Aquarius") were of different shapes. But we, in this case, are only interested in those that depict armed riders on horseback … This is one of the most famous - bronze aquamanila of the second half of the 13th century from Lower Saxony (Metropolitan Museum, New York)
The same aquamanil in the "museum photo", which allows you to see all its details. With a certain degree of conventionality in the proportions of the figures, we see a knight in equipment typical of this era - a topfhelm helmet with breathing holes, a surcoat with a scalloped hem, a high "chair saddle" and stirrups with spurs. The chain mail on the armor is shown with strokes. Unfortunately, the spear and shield with the owner's coat of arms have been lost. Weight 4153 g.
So, aquamanilas are figured vessels used to pour them into people's hands. From here comes, by the way, their name - "aqua" (water), "manus" (hand). It is clear that not the first people they met, water was poured onto their hands, by no means, but representatives of the nobility, when they sat down at the dining table. That is, the same knights of the Middle Ages were not so dirty, as some here in VO imagine. In any case, they washed their hands before eating, although without soap and, perhaps, not so thoroughly. However, the water nevertheless touched their hands. In addition, priests also used aquamanilas, who were also poured into their hands before Mass.
And this is how this aquamanil looks from below. It is immediately clear that we have a horse in front of us.
Usually aquamanilas were cast from a copper alloy and were produced in large quantities in Europe from the 12th to the 15th century. It is interesting that they reached the peak of their popularity already in the XIII century and without fail flaunted on all tables of people of noble and clerical rank.
Earlier aquamanil 1150-1200. (Museum of Decorative Arts, Paris) The figure of a warrior is made very realistically: shield, sword, chain mail, spurs, stirrups, cheekpieces - everything corresponds to its era. Water is poured into the hole in the head.
Note that Western European historians conducted a study of 322 aquamanilas from Western Europe (although they were also produced in the Middle East, which was also one of their production centers), which were cast from metal (there are also ceramic aquamanilas) in the medieval period. For 298 aquamanilas, the region or city where they were produced was identified, and for 257 at least one documented measurement was made. All but 8 were also dated.
Aquamanilas were cast using the "lost shape" technology, in which the wax model melts, leaving a cavity where the metal is poured. All existing metallic aquamanilas were made from copper alloys, often brass or bronze. The most valuable ones were made of silver. We can say that they were among the first volumetric hollow metal objects that were made in the Middle Ages.
Knight, 1275 -1299 Lower Saxony. (Museum of the Middle Ages, Bologna) A special feature of this sculpture is the meticulous reproduction of various "little things". This is the image of crosses on the helmet, and the surcoat embroidered with crosses scalloped along the hem, and even the rollers around the slots for the eyes, protecting them from the spearhead, which could otherwise slip into them from the surface of the helmet.
Aquamanil forms are very diverse, but they always have the form of a living creature. An animal with a powerful body was usually taken as a sample, so that there would be somewhere to pour a sufficient amount of water. Among them, the lion dominates, accounting for 55% of the sample documented by aquamanilas. The next most popular are the variations on the theme of horses - men on horseback, including knights, and horses alone - 40%. The rarest are aquamanilas in the form of a mermaid (the only example is kept in the German National Museum in Nuremberg) and sirens (the only example is kept in the Museum of Decorative Arts in Berlin). Aquamanila in the form of a lion was consistently produced from the 12th to the 14th century. It is interesting that in the XII century, when aquamanilas became especially popular, the smallest variety of their forms is found. That is, this is the best proof that at all times people followed fashion and wanted to "be like everyone else."
Aquamanil "Lion". End of XIII - beginning of XIV century. Lower Saxony. Weight 2541g. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
It should be noted that the sizes of aquamanilas were dictated by their practical purpose. They had to contain a sufficient amount of water to pour onto a person's hands and at the same time so that it could be held in the hands along with the water poured in it. Too large aquamanilas most likely served only as a sign of their owner's wealth.
Very rare anthropomorphic aquamanil made of gold, approx. 1170-1180, (Treasury of Aachen Cathedral, Aachen, Germany)
Previously, 12th century aquamanil production took place mainly in the Meuse Valley, where the artistic style known today as Mosan was born. In the 13th century, aquamanilas were produced in northern Germany, the Hildesheim region, which became famous for its metal processing. Hildesheim was probably the largest manufacturing center in northern Germany. By the XIV century, the centers in the Meuse valley had lost their popularity, and the markets of Northern Germany, Scandinavia and even England began to be controlled by masters from Nuremberg. Finally, Late Middle Ages manufacturing developed in Braunschweig, Northern Germany.
Knight, 1350 Lower Saxony. Alloy composition: 73% copper, 15% zinc, 7% lead, 3% tin. Weight 5016 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York). The helmet has a pointed top with a crest.
Currently, the most famous aquamanil in the shape of a lion, the original of which is exhibited at the German National Museum in Nuremberg. The museum, one might say, was lucky. He had plaster molds for casting parts of aquamanil from wax, and he sold them in 1850. On the basis of these forms, more than 20 different copies were made in three different sizes and with varying degrees of functionality. A number of the best of these copies have made it to renowned museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London and the Lazaro Galdini Museum in Madrid. The German company "Erhard and Son" from the south of Germany also produced many copies of it in the form of oil lamps and … lighters. The C. W. Fleischmann company in Munich also made copies of five different aquamanilas from the National Museum of Germany in Nuremberg and the National Museum of Bavaria in Munich. Otto Hahnemann's company in Hanover also made several copies of Aquamanil. Today at auctions you can sometimes find at least one of these modern copies.
Knight, 1200 -1299 (National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen) There is a cruciform reinforcement on the helmet, on the legs there are quilted knee-length leggings with convex knee pads - characteristic items of protective equipment of that time.
The story about the aquamanilas of the Middle Ages cannot be complete without … a story about their forgeries. The fact is that, among all other medieval items, they are the easiest to forge. For this you only need wax, plaster, molding materials and … a copper alloy of a suitable composition. This is how many aquamanilas were born, which, despite the fact that they are not medieval, are kept in museum collections, although their "true nature" is recognized. For example, several such forgeries are kept in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and … they are considered "original artwork of the 19th century."
The lion-shaped aquamanil at the Walters Museum of Art in Baltimore is based on an original from the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Another lion from the collection of Halberstadt Cathedral has been copied at least twice. The third lion from the National Museum of Bavaria has also been copied twice: one copy is kept in the Art Museum in Frankfurt and the other in the National Museum in Prague. Finally, the sitting lion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art is also very "modern" and looks like another lion in the Museum of Arts and Crafts in Hamburg. However, all of them are exhibited exactly as copies, with an indication of where their original is located. Cause? It's just that these medieval products are beautiful, and as already noted, they can easily be reproduced anew. After all, people need to look at something, and everything related to the life of the past centuries is of great interest to them!
Knight of the early 15th century, Nuremberg, Germany. Weight 2086 g. He wears a helmet typical of Northern Italy. 1410 (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Now let's consider the question of aquamanil dating. Were the years of manufacture stamped on them or were they recognized in some other way? They were dated very often … according to the inventories! The fact is that in the Middle Ages, people were very anxious (as, indeed, now!) Treated property and periodically wrote down what belongs to whom, and where, and how it is stored. Inventories of the property of wealthy townspeople were compiled (for example, an inventory of the property of one lady reached us, which included five profitable houses and … two nightgowns!) And it often happened that inventories made with a difference of 10, 20 and 50 years differed in quantitative composition of items. In this way, it will become clear when approximately one or another thing was bought (and produced), including such a symbol of one's own prosperity and nobility, which aquamanil was in the Middle Ages!
