A rare bronze 'lavabo' water bowl with women's heads on the handles, Flanders, 1st half 15th C.

L.: 31 cm - H.: 15,5 cm (the lavabo)
H.: 31 cm (incl. upright handle)

Our water bowl has an almost convex shape and a high outstanding collar. The handle attachments are female busts. The ends of the spouts are animal heads, obviously worn from frequent use.
The water bowl belongs to the same type as the one that appears in a niche on the outer panels of 'The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb' by Hubert and Jan van Eyck, finished around 1432. (see added image 8) An interesting detail is that this water bowl has a conical lid. Another nearly identical water bowl can be seen on the central panel of the Mérode altarpiece, made by Robert Campin between 1427 and 1432 and depicting the 'Annunciation'. (see added image 9) Like on the Ghent altarpiece, the water bowl hangs in a mural niche. The big difference is that the ends of the spouts are still fairly unused, and likely more pronounced than they originally were on our present examples.