New York, NY — The Jewish Museum in New York City has acquired an extremely rare, late 12th-century North German bronze lion aquamanile for its collection. The work was purchased from the Michael and Judy Steinhardt Judaica Collection sale at Sotheby’s today.

The piece features a 16th-century Hebrew inscription on the lion’s side. Aquamanilia are figural vessels typically containing water and used for washing hands — this particular example was adopted for Jewish religious ceremonial use, probably in a synagogue. It bears a dedicatory inscription from a young man, Berekhiah Segal (the Levite), which suggests that it was donated to a synagogue possibly for use by a Levite, who would wash the hands of a priestly descendent before he blessed the congregation.

“We are delighted to add this rare and fascinating work to The Jewish Museum’s collection. The piece is an engaging example of the lion aquamanile form, simple in its ornamentation but striking. There are currently only two other known aquamanilia from the medieval era bearing Hebrew inscriptions,” observed Susan L. Braunstein, Henry J. Leir Curator, The Jewish Museum.