aquamanile

Also aq·uae·ma·na·le

[ak-wuh-muh-nahy-lee, ah-kwuh-muh-nee-ley]

noun

plural

aquamaniles, aquamanilia 

1. a medieval ewer, often made in grotesque animal forms.

2. Ecclesiastical.,  a basin used by a celebrant for washing the hands during the saying of the Mass.

Word History and Origins

Origin of aquamanile¹

First recorded in 1870–75; from Medieval Latin, Late Latin: alteration (perhaps by association with manus “hand”) of Latin aquimināle, aquae mānāle “ewer,” equivalent to aquae, genitive of aqua “water” + mānāle (or manāle ), perhaps derivative of mānāre “to flow, pour”

Example Sentences

Thus, their inventory includes a 13th-century crosier made of Limoges enamel, a material much coveted by Pierre Bergé and Yves Saint Laurent, a Louis XVI drafting table from 1780 that was commissioned by the Comtesse de Provence, and a 14th-century North German bronze lion aquamanile: a vessel from which servants poured water for royals to wash their hands.

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Among the earliest objects in the auction is a 12th-century North German bronze lion aquamanile, a figural jug used for washing hands.

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Also for sale is a north German bronze lion aquamanile, or figural vessel, from the late 12th century, with a Hebrew inscription on the lion’s side that Ms. Roth believes was probably added 100 or 200 years after the vessel was made.

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Yet this figure of a knight is actually a jug called an aquamanile that rich people used to wash their hands when they were eating.

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Enticements from the new Met guide: “Hypocrite and Slanderer,” above; “Kneeling Bull Holding a Spouted Vessel,” right; and “Aquamanile Depicting Aristotle and Phyllis.”

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