Calci / Pieve di Calci

Image copyright © Kroesen & Steensma, 2004

PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

Results: 22 records

Apostle or saint - St. John the Baptist - standing on a wild boar?

Scene Description: in the second arch from the right

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

Christ - standing - with symbol of Jordan river

Scene Description: centre arch: Simplified figure of Christ in a hieratic posture; at the bottom, a human figure empties fluid from a container, a symbol of the rive Jordan

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

New Testament - public life of Christ - baptism of Christ - in the Jordan - angel holding clothes - dove

Scene Description: 5 figures in arches; at least 3 of them represent the Baptism of Christ in the Jordan

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

angel - 5

Scene Description: five angels, in different positions, in the spandrels of the arcade

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

angel - holding clothes - standing on a lion?

Scene Description: in the second arch from the left: forms part of the Baptism scene

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

angel - holding object - standing on a ram?

Scene Description: in the rightmost arch of the arcade

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

design element - architectural - arcade - round arches - 5

Scene Description: some of the arches are decorated with rosettes

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

human figure - female - standing - standing on an ox? (Virgin Mary?)

Scene Description: in the leftmost arch; often identified as Virgin Mary [cf. FontNotes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - detail

Scene Description: the crouching figure at Christ's feet

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - interior - detail

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - interior - detail

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - interior - drain

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - right side

Scene Description: to the right of tha angle it shows the initial stage of carving of this unfinished side [cf. FontNotes]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - side

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of basin - side

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Nordström, 1984

Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Nordström (1984)

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of basin - upper view

Scene Description: [cf. FontNotes for details]

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Kroesen & Steensma, 2004

Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Kroesen and Steensma (2004)

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of basin - upper view - detail

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of church exterior

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of church exterior

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of church exterior - tower

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

view of font

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Kroesen & Steensma, 2004

Image Source: digital image of an illustration in Kroesen and Steensma (2004)

Copyright Instructions: PERMISSION NOT AVAILABLE -- IMAGE NOT FOR PUBLIC USE

view of font - front side

Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Baptisteria Sacra Index, 2023

Image Source: digital photograph taken 25 June 2007 by BSI

INFORMATION

FontID: 00141CAL
Church/Chapel: Pieve di Santi Giovanni ed Ermolao di Calci
Church Patron Saints: St. John & St. Ermolao
Church Location: Piazza Cairoli, 56011 Calci PI, Italy
Country Name: Italy
Location: Pisa, Toscana
Directions to Site: Located off the SP56, 12-13 km E of Pisa
Ecclesiastic Region: Arcidiocesi di Pisa
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Date: ca. 1180?
Century and Period: 12th century (late?), Romanesque
Church Notes: 11thC church expanded early-12thC; restored and expanded 17thC
Described and illustrated in Biehl (1926): a side of the basin on the Calci font, has five figures, each inside a round arch; Baptism of Christ, with Christ in the centre arch; to his right, John, on a stone, with hand raised; the farthest right arch has an angel; to the left of Christ a male figure holding a tube-like object; in the next arch to the left a female figure; the spandrels of the arches have angels in different posiitions; the capitals of the columns of the arcade are very ornate and the columns at the corners have diagonal fluting pattern. Nordström (1984) notes a Baptism of Christ scene. Kroesen and Steensma (2004) describe and illustrate the carved side of the monolithic square font: "The front of the basin in Calci is decorated with carvings of five human figures under semicircular arches, which rest on colonnettes with capitals. The theme is the Baptism of Christ. He is standing under the middle arch, with at his feet s small figure pouring water from a jug, the symbol of the River Jordan[...] To the right of Christ is St. John the Baptist, who has raised his hand in a gesture of blessing[...] On either side an angel is holding an item of Christ's clothing[...] Under the fifth arch is a woman, possibly the Virgin Mary. All the figures except Christ are standing on a four-footed animal: to the left is an ox, then a lion; to the right a wild boar and possibly a ram. The angel and the figure with raised hands in the spandrels to the left and right of Christ probably illustrate the Annunciation. The other spandrels also each contain an angel." [We are grateful to Annamaria Ducci for her help in documenting this font]

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 43.726111, 10.513056
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 43° 43′ 34″ N, 10° 30′ 47″ E
UTM: 32T 621865 4842566

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, marble
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: square
Basin Interior Shape: [other -- cf. FontNotes and Image area]
Basin Exterior Shape: square

REFERENCES

Biehl, Walter, Toskanische Plastik des frühen und hohen Mittelalters, Leipzig: Verlag von E.A. Seemann, 1926
Index of Medieval Art, The Index of Medieval Art, Index of Christian Art, Princeton, [s.d.]. URL: https://theindex.princeton.edu/.
Kroesen, Justin E.A., The Interior of the medieval village church = Het middeleeuwse Dorpskerkinterieur, Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters, 2004
Nordström, Folke, Mediaeval Baptismal Fonts: An Iconographical Study, Stockholm: Universitetet i Umeå, 1984