aquamanile

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• Naomi Feuchtwanger-Sarig asked

  Dear curator, I wonder if you can provide more details about the inscription: dating and interpretation. Thank you.

• Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen answered

  Dear Naomi, this water sprinkler can be dated in the 13th century, 1250-1300. The inscription is: PEDER.NIELSEN EIS MPG - in which the G is printed the other way around. The sprinkler has the shape of a proudly standing lion, but the handle is a dragon that bites the lion in its neck. When you would handle the object, water would be pouring out of the lion's maul. In general one would interpret the image as a warning against evil. When you want to know what it meant at the time when it was meant you would need to conduct extensive research about local and temporal circumstances. I hope this answers your question a bit. Kind regards, Els