Vilac No. 1 / Vilach

Described in Durliat (1978), who dates it to the 13th or 14th century. Described and illustrated in Catalunya romànica (1984- ), where the suggested dating is the second half of the 12th or the first half of the 13th century. On-site notes: a unique piece in this valley; it is believed to be originally from another unknown church; the basin is roughly hemispherical with short vertical sides and a rather shallow underbowl, only 22 cm deep. The narrow basin sides are ornamented with a dragon (?) facing right; its tail ondulates all around the sides to end up in its mouth; between the ondulations there are leaf and pine-cone motifs. The underbowl is ornamented with a fine low-relief ribbed pattern with floral motifs in the spandrels; on the front side there is a large female figure; this figure appears at first sight crudely carved and totally naked but for a cap of sorts, as the Catalunya romànica (ibid.) points out; however, on close inspection, the figure, which stands in a sensuous, provocative pose -left hand to the back of the head and right hand to the right hip. The description in Catalunya romànica (ibid.) is rather derogatory and fails to take into account the obvious: she is described as standing in a grotesque simian-like pose ["adopta un posat grotesc [...] adoptant una positura gairebé simiesca"]. The figure is wearing some sort of upper bodice, as it is clear from the cut of the sleeves at the wrists and the form below and around the breasts, although it could be argued that the latter represent her ribs, and she has footwear on both her feet. With the exception of the feet, the lower part of her body is naked and her genitalia are evident with a prominent display of her clitoris; she stands before a chair that has ornamented arm-rests. The stem of the base is quasi-cylindrical (slightly wider at the bottom) and plain except for two colonnette-like vertical protrusions; the lower base has a row of ball motif. Durliat (ibid.) mentions a similar lower base in the Aubert font. A "romanesque baptism font" (ACTUR, 1999: 4). Noted in Amiell (2007).