Sclayn / Sclayn-sur-Meuse / Scleyin

Described in Ghislain (1986) as a baptismal font as a Mosan font of the namurois group, one of a small uncommon mixed type in which the corners of the square top are made of four lion protomes surging from the rounded basin [the two others mentioned in Ghislain as part of this group are Lincent and Villers-la-Ville]. Listed in Drake (2002) as a square baptismal font of the Mosan group, mounted on a multi-support base, and similar to the fonts at Seraing and Villers-la-Ville: four salient heads at the corners, and foliate decoration on the panels, "the symbols of all four Evangelists occupy the spandrels". Drake (ibid.) informs that the font was at the time of his writing, ca. 2002, in the Musée Archéologique of Namur. Noted and illustrated in KIK-IRPA, Brussels (Belgium), with date 1101-1200, as being in the Musée provincial des Arts anciens du Namurois with inventory number "cat. 20". Catalogued and illustrated in Ghislain (2009) as two fragments from the basin of a baptismal font of the Namurois group, filiation de Saint-Séverin-en-Condroz, made of limestone (calcaire de Meuse) ca. 1155-1160; the fragments were found built into a cemetery wall of the old demolished church of Saint-Maurice, and taken in 1863 to the Société archéologique de Namur; Ghislain (ibid.) remarks on detail similarities with the fonts at Merksem, Daussois, Villers-la-Ville, Lincent, and notes that the basin top is by the same hand that produced those at Gentinnes, Hanzinne and Merksem. Pubben (2019) writes: "Aftercomparing the decorations on the baptismal font in Maastricht and Brussels with 50 fonts attributed to the Tournai School and 150 fonts attributed to the Mosan School, it became clearthat there were significant similarities between thisfont and four Mosan fonts: the ones in Saint-Séverin-en-Condroz, Hanzinne, Sclayn en Gentinnes. These five fonts can be seen as an exceptional category within the Mosan School, because of their lavishly decorated bowls and intricate and complex iconographies. That the font is probably part ofthe Mosan School corresponds with Ghislains conclusions and the results of the geological examinations done bythe KIK-IRPA in 1970."