Messina No. 1 / Messana / Μεσσήνη / Missina

Results: 2 records

human figure - male - head

Scene Description: Appears to be male with long hair

symbol - cross - Latin - anchored

INFORMATION

FontID: 00338MES
Museum and Inventory Number: Museo regionale di Messina
Church/Chapel: [NB: this font may be from the SS. Salvatore dell'Acroterio in Messina]
Church Location: [NB: address & coordinates given for the museum] Viale della Libertà, 465, Messina, Italy
Country Name: Italy
Location: Messina, Sicilia
Ecclesiastic Region: Arcidiocesi di Messina-Lipari-Santa Lucia del Mela
Font Location in Church: in a museum
Date: 1135?
Century and Period: 12th century, Norman
Cognate Fonts: Probably the font at Santa Maria del Pátir, in Calabria
[NB: it is not clear whether or not this is the same font as the one listed in BSI under the entry for Santissimo Salvatore dell'Acroterio, in which case it would quite similar to the font at Santa Maria del Pátir, dated 1137 - to be resolved]. The source of the illustration in the Index of Christian Art deals chiefly with Calabrian churches, which would make this font likely to have originated in Calabria. It is goblet-shaped, almost cylindrical in the upper 2/3; only the upper half is ornamented, the lower half being totally plain; heads at the four corners, one of the heads with long hair reaching to the middle of the basin; only one side of the basin is visible, between the two heads: it has a finely carved croix ancrée in the centre, while the rest is filled with equally well-executed vegetal motif. The whole of the carving has a very Norman appearance (Orsi, 1929, fig. 94)

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 38.217346, 15.565041
Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 38° 13′ 2.45″ N, 15° 33′ 54.15″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, type unknown
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: cauldron-shaped
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

REFERENCES

Index of Medieval Art, The Index of Medieval Art, Index of Christian Art, Princeton, [s.d.]. URL: https://theindex.princeton.edu/.
Orsi, P., Chiese basiliane della Calabria, Firenze: Vallecchi, 1929