Lot 809 Dα

This dish belongs to the group of objects that used to be known as Hanseatic bowls. These are bronze or copper vessels, generally from the 12th and 13th centuries, which, according to medieval manuscripts, were associated with the Hanseatic cities. They originate mainly from the region that stretched from the Baltic Sea across the Lower Rhine to England and was dominated by trade with the free cities. The designation of the Hansa bowls has been obsolete since the publication of the legendary art historian Weitzmann-Fiedler, who proved in 1981 that these objects in fact have no verifiable connection with the Hanseatic cities at all.

However, this bowl clearly belongs to the group known as the vice bowls, even if "idolatria" - emphasised here - cannot technically be assigned to the canon of the seven Christian deadly sins. Ulrich Müller describes this type as "bowls with incorrect iconography or even faulty inscriptions". He surmises that the utensils, which were probably used for hand washing, not only demonstrated social prestige, but also conveyed basic religious knowledge. "The topic of good and evil was present in everyday preaching practice. The hand washing seems (...) to have offered the opportunity to introduce this content during the meal, perhaps also when greeting or bidding farewell to visitors, and to demonstrate it on the part of the users." (ibid. p. 42)