In 1954, the Legion of Honor acquired a curious bronze vessel called an aquamanile. Made between 1250 and 1300 in what is today Germany, the Legion of Honor’s aquamanile, or ewer, is fashioned in the shape of a lion, its elongated tail functioning as a handle and its mouth as a spout. An aquamanile (plural: aquamanilia) is a vessel that was used for pouring water during hand washing in both spiritual and secular contexts during the late Middle Ages. Its name derives from the Latin words for “water” and “hand” (aqua and manus). Aquamanilia were primarily employed by clerics while administering the mass, but they also adorned the tables of the wealthy during banquets.
The origins of aquamanilia can be traced back to eighth-century Iran and, indeed, ritual washing or ablution holds great significance in each of the Abrahamic religions—Judaism, Islam, and Christianity—as a means of achieving physical and spiritual cleanliness.
Although aquamanilia first appeared in Iran during the Early Abbasid period (ca. 750–861), ritual hand washing in the Abrahamic tradition can be traced back to ancient Jewish practices. Various Jewish texts prescribe hand washing as a means of spiritual cleansing. The Babylonian Talmud (ca. 500), a text that interprets the Torah (the Old Testament) and expounds Jewish law (halakha), requires hand washing prior to eating bread, a ritual called netilat yadayim. Water is first poured over one hand and then the other (the number of repetitions varies), often using a special two-handled cup called a natla. Because one hand is purified before the other, the cup’s second handle removes the need for both hands to touch as the cup passes between them. A blessing is also recited: “blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with Your commandments, and commanded us concerning the washing of the hands.” The Talmud and other texts also mandate hand washing after eating, upon waking, prior to worship, and prior to reciting blessings during worship. Historic examples of natla cups are rare, and there is likely no kinship between them and aquamanilia, but the Jewish association between washing and spiritual purity recurs in both Christianity and Islam.
In the Islamic tradition, hand washing is a component of the ablution ritual wudu, in which the hands, forearms, face, head, and feet are washed or wiped with water. The Quran mandates wudu prior to worship: “O you who believe! When you stand up for ritual prayer, wash your face and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your head and your feet up to the ankles” (5:6). The ritual’s finer points are elaborated in hadith, or accounts of the Prophet Muhammad’s teachings, including when wudu is required, how to wash each body part and in what order, acceptable sources of water, and the conditions that subsequently nullify the purity of wudu. Many mosques contain wudu facilities, ranging from a fountain to a row of faucets.