Lions, Dragons, and Other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle
Ages, the second exhibition resulting from a collaboration between Bard
Graduate Center and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, featured the Metropolitan’s
superb collection of medieval aquamanilia. The first hollow-cast vessels
produced in the medieval West, aquamanilia were used by priests to pour water
for hand-washing before mass and by lay people at mealtimes. Each vessel had
two openings, one for filling with water and one for pouring. Human and animal
forms were used, the animals often being fantastic creations. Aquamanilia are
among the most distinctive and delightful products of the Middle Ages.
The Metropolitan Museum houses one of the most important
collections of aquamanilia in the world, dating from the 12th to the 15th
centuries. Examples are divided between the Department of Medieval Art, Lehman
Collection, and The Cloisters, the museum’s uptown branch. Until this
collaboration with the BGC, the collection was never exhibited together or
catalogued. The exhibition was organized by Peter Barnet; Michel David-Weill,
Curator in Charge, the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, The
Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Pete Dandrige, Conservator, Sherman Fairchild
Center for Objects Conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For many museum visitors, aquamanilia hold a particular
fascination because of their always original and sometimes whimsical sculptural
forms. But if the vessels are seen out of context and usage, viewers may not
fully understand their meaning and function in medieval society. This
exhibition offered insight into these intriguing objects and provided viewers
with a greater appreciation of the history and culture of the period.
The entire aquamanilia collection of the Metropolitan
Museum, as well as selected examples from other major collections, was on
display. Additional objects drawn from the Met’s extensive collection provided
context. Late Antique, Byzantine, and Islamic works suggested sources and
models. Stylistic and technical relationships were explored with other medieval
examples in various media, such as tapestry and ceramic.
The BGC–Metropolitan collaborations are a key component of
the BGC’s Museum History and Practice concentration, which was inaugurated in
2001 in order to accommodate the increasing number of students interested in
museum careers. The joint projects provide opportunities for students in the
BGC’s graduate programs to gain valuable hands-on museum experience, and for
BGC faculty and Met curators to work together to plan exhibitions of
significant decorative arts collections normally not known by the general
public.
For this exhibition, BGC students collaborated with curators
and conservators from the Met to conduct research on the objects and produce
the gallery guide. Students made an in-depth study of medieval art, history,
and culture, and conducted specific research on the Metropolitan’s aquamanilia
collection. The students were also directly involved in researching additional
objects included in the exhibition to help visitors better understand the
importance of aquamanilia within the medieval world.
A major focus of the exhibition was the development of the
techniques and materials used to cast and finish aquamanilia. Early treatises,
including the 12th-century manuscript On Divers Arts, were an important
resource, but much additional information about medieval metalworking generally
and aquamanilia specifically was obtained from physical evidence such as tool
marks and core impressions on the objects themselves. A variety of analytic
techniques, including study of the alloys and core materials, were also
employed. Based on the information generated by this research, Ubaldo Vitali, a
fourth-generation Italian silversmith, cast an aquamanile in his studio,
replicating medieval techniques. Vitali is one of the most accomplished and
inspired artisans working today and a noted historian of metalworking
technologies with substantial experience in the casting and finishing of
metals. His process was digitally recorded and was incorporated into the
exhibition and its catalogue.
The full-color catalogue,
Lions, Dragons, & other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages,
documents the entire collection of aquamanilia in the Metropolitan Museum and
presents scholarly essays by the exhibition organizers. Peter Barnet discusses
the meaning, usage, and stylistic development of the aquamanile. Pete Dandridge
describes the technological discoveries made during the analysis of the
aquamanilia collection and explains how this information increases
understanding of medieval metalworking and the production of aquamanilia. The
catalogue also includes an essay by Dr. Ursula Mende, Germanisches
Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg; entries for all exhibited aquamanilia; and a
checklist of related objects.
Organized by The Bard Graduate Center and The Metreopolitan Museum of Art. curated by Peter Barnet; Michel David-Weill, Curator in Charge, the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Pete Dandrige, Conservator, Sherman Fairchild Center for Objects Conservation at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.