Provins No. 1

Results: 33 records

Click to view images and/or subjects

B1R01: sacrament - baptism

Scene Description: Male and female figures raise infant over an octagonal baptismal font

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R02: human figure - walking in profile - 2

Scene Description: approaching the baptism scene in B1R/01

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R03: human figure - 7

Scene Description: one kneeling

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R04: coat of arms - Sergines family

Scene Description: Identified as the coat of arms of the donors of the font by Lefèvre; seen here on the upper register, framed by two haloed (?) figures

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R05: cleric - monk - with book - 3

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R06: cleric - monk - 2 - with a reliquary

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R07: cleric - monk - with cross

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R08: human figure - damaged

Scene Description: unidentifiable

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R09: cleric - with container

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R10: cleric - with processional cross

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B1R11: cleric - exorcist

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R01: cleric - bishop - seated between 2 candles

Scene Description: directly below the baptism scene in B1R/01

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R02: cleric - priest - kneeling - with holy wafer

Scene Description: seen here on the right

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R03: human figure - 2 - kneeling - orant position

Scene Description: seen here on the bottom register

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R04: human figure - kneeling - with scroll

Scene Description: seen here on the left

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R05: cleric - exorcist

Scene Description: seen here in the centre

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R06: human figure - kneeling - with cross

Scene Description: see here on the right, to the left of a baptismal font

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R07: liturgical furnishing - baptismal font

Scene Description: the font has on the front of its basin a shield bearing a coat of arms

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R08: cleric - priest - kneeling - with book - blessing the water of the font

Scene Description: to the right of the font

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R09: human figure - kneeling - with candle

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

B2R10: angel - orant - 2

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of basin - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of basin - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of basin - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of church exterior - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of church exterior - northwest view

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of church exterior - southeast view

Image Source: edited detail of a digital photograph taken 24 March 2012 by Coyau [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Provins_-_église_Sainte-Croix_-_chevet_02.jpg] [accessed 18 September 2017]

Copyright Instructions: GFDL / CC-BY-SA-3.0,2.5,2.0,1.0

view of church interior - capital

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of font and cover

Scene Description: the font as photographed by Enlart probably ca. 1900 -- notice the old makeshift cover

Image Source: digital image of a B&W photograph [MH0035908] taken before 1923 by Camille Enlart, in Mémoire [ref.: APMH00035908] [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eglise_Sainte-Croix_-_Fonts_baptismaux_-_Provins_-_Médiathèque_de_l'architecture_et_du_patrimoine_-_APMH00035908.jpg] [accessed 18 September 2017]

Copyright Instructions: CC-PD-Mark / PD-old-80-1923

view of font and cover

Scene Description: the font as photographed by Louis Neurdein before 1905; the font cover looks quite new, and was probably acquired/made between the time of Enlart's photograph and that of Neurdin, that is close to the year 1900

Image Source: digital image of a B&W photograph [MH0014636] taken before 1905 (?) by Louis Neurdein, in Mémoire ref.: APMH00014636] https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Eglise_Sainte-Croix_-_Fonts_baptismaux_-_Provins_-_Médiathèque_de_l'architecture_et_du_patrimoine_-_APMH00014636.jpg] [accessed 18 September 2017]

Copyright Instructions: CC-PD-Mark / PD-old-80-1923

view of font and cover

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

view of font cover

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 26 June 2000 by BSI

INFORMATION

FontID: 00327PRO

Church/Chapel: Sainte-Croix (orig. from Saint-Pierre)

Church Patron Saints: The Holy Cross

Church Location: 1 rue des Jacobins, 77160 Provins, France -- Tel.: +33 1 60 58 55 40

Country Name: France

Location: Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France

Directions to Site: Located off the D408, SE of Paris, about 50 km E of Melun. There is another medieval decorated font at St-Loup-de-Naud, 8 km SW of Provins.

Font Location in Church: In the "chapelle des fonts", west end, north side, to the left of the entrance

Date: ca. 1230?

Century and Period: 13th century (early?), Early Gothic

Cognate Fonts: St-Loup-de-Naud, nearby, for the shape only, not the ornamentation

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Mme Anne Marzin, conservateur of the Archives de la Bibliothèque Municipale de Provins, and the friendly and tenacious staff at the Mairie de Provins for their help in documenting this font while the church was closed for renovations at the time of our visit

Church Notes: Sainte-Croix built 12thC; expanded 16thC -- listed in Mérimée [ref.: PA00087202]

Font Notes: Click to view font notes

According to Lefèvre the font was donated circa 1230 by Marguerite de Sergines, a local noble woman [Sergines is near Provins], to the now disappeared church of Saint-Pierre. It is a rather strange looking font, oval-shaped, with the centre part protruding and the sides receeding (St-Loup-de-Naud nearby has a font of similar shape, though plain). On-site notes: the basin has scene ornamentation at two levels or registers. In R1 a central scene shows two figures raising a child over a baptismal font; then, L->R, 3 figures in profile approaching the baptism scene; then 7 figures, the last kneeling; 2 saints (?) with a shield of the Sergines family between them; 3 monks reading; 2 monks holding a reliquary; a cleric holding a cross; an unidentifiable figure; cleric holding a container; cleric holding a processional cross; exorcist. The R2 level, what could be defined as the underbowl, has: bishop seated between two Paschal candles (directly under the baptism scene in R1); kneeling figure holding wafer; 2 kneeling figures in prayer; kneeling figure holding scroll; exorcist; a kneeling figure holding a cross, a font and another figure with a book blesses the water; kneeling figure with Paschal candle; 2 angels in prayer, 2 kneeling; 3 kneeling monks in prayer. The base, of a later date, is moulded and devoid of any figures. There is a half-dome wooden cover of later date decorated with floral/vegetal motifs. Enlart (1902) interprets the two registers as being "une procession de clercs portant la croix, les flambeaux, le bénitier et autres accessoires du culte" of the sacrament of Baptism represented , in his opinion, "avec une science consommée et un sentiment exquis sur les fonts malheureusement très mutilés [...] dont la date est voisine de 1300"; he also tells of "deux consoles" on this font (inside?), which he explains as probably being ("faites pour porter des flambeaux ou les vases du sel et d'huile dans la cérémonie du baptême". Corblet (1881-1882), strangely enough, dates this font to the 16th century. The Dictionnaire des églises... (1966- ) dates it to the second half of the 13th century and describes the ornamentation program as "le cortège et la cérémonie du baptême." Lasteyrie (1926-1927), who describes the scene on this font as "un baptême célébré avec quelque apparat", mentions that this font is one or two centuries younger than the one at Bougival; since he had just dated the Bougival font "environs de l'an 2000" in the previous paragraph, should one therefore assume that he is giving the year 1100 or even 1000 as the date for this font? Probably not. Lasteyrie (ibid.) does suggest that the foot of this font may not be the original, but one which replaced the old one "à une date assez récente". Listed and illustrated in Palissy [ref.: PM77001392] with date in the 13th century.

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 48.561134, 3.298495

Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 48° 33′ 40.08″ N, 3° 17′ 54.58″ E

UTM: 31U 522024 5378714

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone

Font Shape: oval (variant)

Basin Interior Shape: oval

Basin Exterior Shape: oval (variant)

Rim Thickness: 7 cm*

Diameter (inside rim): 71 x 100 cm*

Diameter (includes rim): 114 x 85 cm*

Basin Depth: 35 cm*

Basin Total Height: 66 cm*

Height of Base: 34 cm*

Basin Upper Panel Dimensions: 38 cm* (height)

Basin Lower Panel Dimensions: 26 cm* (height)

Font Height (less Plinth): 100 cm*

Notes on Measurements: * BSI on-site [NB: the diameters (outer and inner) refer to those of the ellipse (min. & max.)]

LID INFORMATION

Date: ca. 1900? / modern

Material: wood,

Apparatus: no

Notes: Shaped like a half-dome and ornamented with rich carvings of vegetation/foliage and topped with a cross finial.

REFERENCES

Congrès archéologique

Dictionnaire des églises de France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Suisse, Paris: R. Laffont, 1966-

Corblet, Jules, Histoire dogmatique, liturgique et archéologique du sacrement de baptême, Paris: V. Palme, 1881-1882

Davies, J.G., The Architectural Setting of Baptism, London: Barrie and Rockliff, 1962

Enlart, Camille, Manuel d'archéologie française depuis les temps mérovingiens jusqu'à la Renaissance, Paris: Alphonse Picard & fils, 1902

Index of Medieval Art, The Index of Medieval Art, Index of Christian Art, Princeton, [s.d.]. URL: https://theindex.princeton.edu/.

Lasteyrie du Saillant, Robert Charles, conte de, Architecture réligieuse en France à l'époque gothique (éd. posthume par Marcel Aubert)[2 vols.], Paris: A. Picard, 1926-1927