Berlancourt

Illustrated in an undated rwing in the Archives départementales de l'Aisne [https://archives.aisne.fr] [accessed 5 May 2022] [cf. ImagesArea]. Included in Cloquet's list of northern French fonts made of Tournai marble (Cloquet, 1895). Enlart lists is as Tournai with a 5-column base (Enlart, 1902). The square mounted font at Berlancourt ia today a poor remnant of what it once was. There are signs that the ornamentation on the basin sides was removed, probably chiselled off at some point in the past, as well as two large cracks and several iron reinforcements on the block. The upper surface of the basin, at the corners, shows the type of carving expected in a Tournai font, in this case foliage and large fleur-de-lis, and the level of craftmanship that would have shown on the side pannels; two iron staples remain from the original lock for the cover. There is however no record of the former ornamentation. There The base consists of a broad central shaft or speckled marble; the four outer non-constructional colonnettes are round; the top of the lower base has moulded roundels serving as bases for the five columns of the stem, while the lower volume is plain and square, both characteristics normally found in Tournai fonts. The font has a copper low-dome cover of modern manufacture, post-1918 in M. Louvrier's opinion.