Tomorrow the entire aquamanilia collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art goes on view at the Bard Graduate Center. That's right, aquamanilia -- you know, those water pitchers popular in the Middle Ages, fashioned in the form of humans and animals: so Samson rides a lion with the water pouring out of the lion's head, as seen above, a dragon has his spout at the mouth, and so on. A priest would pour water from an aquamanile to wash his hands before mass, while lay people used them at mealtimes. Hygiene with a sense of humor: Haven't seen anything like it in the era of Purell.
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