Tredos No. 1 / Tredós / Cap d'Aran

Described in Sarrate Farga (1974) as another example of the early immersion fonts (?) known locally as 'oil-fonts' ["piques d'oli"] due to their use to hold the tithe oil for the illumination and heating of the church; this author is one of the few who claims an early date [10th-11th century] and makes them the predecessors of the chalice-shaped fonts of the Romanesque fonts in the valley. It is, like most of the others, rectangular and devoid of ornamentation. Catalunya romànica (1984- , v. XIII: 401) describes it as looking like a bath-tub ["una banyera"] and assigns it to the pre-Romanesque period [NB: with most other such fonts in this valley Cat. rom. is usually reluctant to commit to a definite description of them as fonts or to date these objects any earlier than the mid-to-late 12th century or even early 13th century, which would make them contemporary with the other type of baptismal font. The entry for this church in Romanico Digital [www.romanicodigital.com/el-romanico/imagenes-romanico/fachada-norte-y-campanario-sant-esteue-tredos] [accessed 14 August 2021] notes: "Pila/receptáculo. En la esquina sureste del ábside, se encuentra una pila que debió de servir como receptáculo (de aceite o grano). Se trata de una pieza rectangular, de unos 50 cm de alto y 103 de largo, actualmente cubierta por una tapa de madera. Íntegramente encalada, no se perciben elementos ornamentales en su superficie. No se puede asegurar que sea de periodo románico."