Baptisteria Sacra Index: An Iconographical Index of Baptismal Fonts

About

Baptisteria Sacra Index (BSI) is an international iconographical index of baptismal fonts with photographs of their settings from the early Christian period to the seventeenth century for scholarly research. BSI is affiliated with the Digital Humanities Network at the University of Toronto in Canada and the Digital Research Alliance of Canada.

The BSI digital humanities research project is a permanent work-in-progress. The BSI project researches, collects and catalogues information on individual baptismal fonts and their liturgical settings. We aim to complete the following information for each font registered in BSI: date of font (year, century, style or period), geographic location, church (GIS location), medium, dimensions, workshop or artist, cognate fonts, pictorial subjects and decorative motifs, location codes of placement of motifs/subjects, inscriptions (language, location, text, source), drainage systems, lids (date of lid, apparatus, medium) and published scholarship on each font.

As of April 2025 the BSI database has documented:

• Font Records: 26,000 +
• Digital Images: 132,000 + (fonts, settings and contexts, churches (exterior and interior))
• Inscriptions: 1,850+ (Arabic, Danish, Dutch, English, Old English, Flemish, French and Norman-French, Greek, Gaelic, Old German, Old Armenian, Italian, Latin, Runes, Spanish, Swedish, Nahuatl glyph, )
• Bibliographic references about fonts: 3,500+

Acknowledgements and Gratitude

With gratitude to the University of Toronto, University of Toronto Library System and the Critical Digital Humanities Initiative (CDHI), Digital Research Alliance of Canada and Sigtica Inc. for their on-going support for the BSI project.

Over the years the BSI project has established an international network of ‘fonters,’ and citizen scholars who contribute material from around the world to the BSI project. With gratitude and deep appreciation we thank our fellow fonters, who are acknowledged on each font record.

Unknown to most, the majority of extant baptismal fonts are not in the protected environment of museums, but have remained fixed, cultural heritage works in the same settlement or region for centuries, becoming part of local histories and memoria. 

Copyright Information and Use of Site

Baptisteria Sacra Index, known also as BSI or Baptisteria Sacra, means the compilation of BSI or Baptisteria Sacra Records and any materials contained therein. BSI records means the catalogue records and all multi-media documentation of baptismal fonts in the Baptisteria Sacra Index. CC-BY-SA applies to all database entries and images credited to the Baptisteria Sacra Index (BSI).

All works contained therein, and other materials related to the BSI project are protected under Canadian and international copyright laws and other applicable intellectual property and proprietary information legislation. Publication and distribution of works in BSI, including scholarly publication and posting materials on public access web sites is not permitted without the expressed consent of copyright owners. Images not by BSI are provided with copyright information and instructions for access.

This website is supported with the assistance by Sigtica, Inc.

Edition: May, 2025