Peacock aquamanile

This zoomorphic sculpture is a semi-naturalistic, semi-fantastical bird. The head is crowned with a fleuron. On its back is a recessed handle with a mouthpiece, which resembles the neck and head of a bird. There are traces of engraved plumage on the body. There is an ornamental band across the breast. The two legs, which are short and straight, are linked from behind by a semi-circle that gives them more stability. The bird bears a bilingual inscription in Latin and Arabic on its crop. The Arabic inscription ‘amal ‘abd al-malik al-nasrânī means ‘the work of ‘Abd al-Malik the Christian’. The Latin inscription, which is preceded by a Maltese cross, reads Opus Salomonis eraT X.

Two medievalists have shown that the letters T X represent a date in the Spanish era[1], which is equivalent to the year 1010, i.e. 972 in the Christian era—this suggests the object was made during the reign of the Umayyad caliph al-Hakam II. In the archaeological museum in Madrid there is a small bronze lamp with two spouts, bearing an inscription that uses this dating system.

The name ‘Abd al-Malik is the Arabic for the Latin term Servus Domini (servant of the Lord). The term al-nasrânī was often used to refer to Christians living under Muslim rule who were called Mozarabs (from Arabic musta‘ribūn, meaning literally ‘making oneself an Arab’). ‘Abd al-Malik was therefore a Christian bronze-caster from Al-Andalus, who may have worked for the court of Madinat al-Zahra, but whose workshop hasn't been identified. The term Opus Salomonis (work of Solomon) also appears on the lamp in Madrid. It may signify that this was the work of a certain Suleyman, but it could also be a reference to King Solomon who, according to legend, controlled genies and had a knowledge of the secret sciences and crafts. It would in that case be a label of quality. It is interesting to note the connection between the peacock, the date, and the name of a king who was said to speak ‘bird language’ and was accompanied by a hoopoe (his messenger)[2].

There are two other bronze peacocks similar to the example in the Louvre. One is kept in the Furusiyya Art Foundation, and the other is in the Pinacothèque in Cagliari, in Sardinia[3].

These luxury objects were common in the Christian West, and were copied by bronze-casters in North Europe in the Romanesque period (twelfth century). In the Christian world, they seem to have been associated with the ritual of the Mass. Aquamaniles, which were often made in Lower Saxony and the Mosan region (Lorraine), retained the strange appearance of earlier Muslim examples. The Cloisters collection in New York includes a dragon and lion, made in Germany in the twelfth or thirteenth century, in which Islamic influences can be seen. An aquamanile in the form of a griffin, made in Lower Saxony and kept in the Kunstkammer in Vienna[4], has marked similarities with the Iranian senmurv (peacock dragon). Later, aquamaniles became table fountains, but retained their strange appearance. Containers in the form of a knight (British Museum), which were very popular at the end of the Middle Ages, continued this tradition. These objects, which were designed to amuse guests at a meal, were a continuation of court customs established by the Abbasids, Fatimids, and Umayyads of Córdoba.

[2] In the kingdom of Andalusia, where there were many stories about ‘the Table of Solomon’, this term had particular significance. During the romantic period, the French writer Gérard de Nerval used the theme of the king who was a magician and metalworker in his book Voyage en Orient (1851). Whatever its significance, the inscription reveals the religious values in the Middle Ages that were associated with trade secrets, particularly the art of metalworking, whether in the Muslim or Christian worlds.

[3] Unlike the example in the Louvre, they have lost their tails and the engraved plumage is very visible. The bird in the Furussiya Art Foundation also has a cross engraved on its crop, which suggests it was reused in a church. It is important to note that peacocks often appear in primitive Christian art, especially in altar decorations. The bird's ocellated plumage may have symbolized the ‘iridescence’ of the Act of Creation (the passage of One to Many), or the diversity of the Christian people unified by faith. The bird in Cagliari, which has also lost its flower-shaped crest, was discovered in Sardinia, in San Salvatore. Its presence in Italy can be explained by the many Arab expeditions to Sardinia up until the eleventh century. During the Taifa period (1031–1091), the island was controlled by pirates from Dénia. The island was also raided on many occasions by Aghlabid and Fatimid fleets from Ifriqiya.

[4] Inventory No. 83