Author: Unknown
Source: The Internet
Owner: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Location: New York, USA
Link to: Website
Date: 13th century
Geography: Made in Lower Saxony
Culture: North German
Medium: Copper alloy
Dimensions: Overall: 13 11/16 x 11 1/4 x 4 3/4 in. (34.7 x 28.5 x 12 cm), 8.554lb. (3880g)
Thickness PD: 1/10-7/50 in. (0.25-0.35 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Electrum
Credit Line: The Cloisters Collection, 1947
Accession Number: 47.101.55
Although compromised by the loss of the horse's feet and significant wear to the surface, this aquamanile in the form of a youthful falconer remains a striking work. The rider wears a tight hunting costume with a pleated surcoat and an unusual "pillbox" hat. His hair falls down the back into two bundles, each tied with a ribbon. This exotic costume, presumably meant to evoke a hunter from the Islamic world, provides few points of comparison to help in dating and localizing this work. The hunter's face, however, with its incised eyes and small, down-turned mouth and thin lips, is reminiscent of the faces on the Hildesheim baptismal font, and the slender torso of the hunter can be compared to other Lower Saxony aquamanilia.
The FHT aims to establish a portal for the world's falconers and other interested parties to access aspects of the sport's rich heritage by linking existing physical archives, including international private and public collections, through the medium of an electronic archive. This archive features falconry furniture, works of art, books, correspondence from leading falconers and film and photographic material for the education and interest of falconer and scholar alike. We hope that, whatever your background or interest in our sport, you may find something of value through our archive to deepen your knowledge, understanding and passion for falconry and will help us, through your support, to preserve this precious cultural heritage for future generations.
Falconry Heritage Trust
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