Baga / Bagà, Sant Esteve

The only evidence of this now disappeared holy-water stoup ["pica beneitera"] is a photograph from 1918 [reproduced in Monuments de la Catalunya romànica, [s.d.]: 255, and ion Catalunya romànica (1984- , vol. XI: 120]. The stoup was made of two capitals: the top one was an octagonal piece with figures and shields on alternate sides; the corners are made of rope motif. Monuments de la C... dates this capital to the 10th century or earlier, a very unlikely dating, whereas Catalunya r... suggests a high-medieval date for it, without further specification. The base is made of an upside-down capital, larger than the top one, with a net ornament made of criss-crossing tape creating romboid motifs. Both sources suggest a 13th or 14th-century date for the base capital ibid.) Both capitals may well belong to the same period, mid-13th to 14th century since the presence of heraldry of this type in earlier objects would be surprising.