Aquamanile - Oxford Definition

[From the Latin aqua, ‘water’, and manus, ‘hand’] a vessel to hold water for washing hands, either of the priest before the celebration of Mass or, more generally, of diners at meals. Aquamanilia were fashionable throughout Europe from the 13th to the 16th centuries. Many were in the form of strange beasts or animals, particularly lions, with the tail arched across the back to form the handle, filled with liquid through an opening in the back and poured through the mouth. They were usually cast in bronze and referred to in medieval texts as auricalcum because they resembled gold when polished—a few examples were actually made of gold or silver. In England in the 14th century they were also made of lead-glazed earthenware and in Italy of maiolica.