Son No. 3 / Son del Pino / Sonne

Results: 4 records

view of font

the sarcophagus-shaped font with its stone lid; the square hole in the lid was covered with a wooden cover of which a piece remains
Scene Description: the sarcophagus-shaped font with its stone lid; the square hole in the lid was covered with a wooden cover of which a piece remains
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Lander Sarasola, 2016
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 August 2016 by Lander Sarasola
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received via Mikel Unanue (e-mail of 29 August 2016)

animal - mammal - lion - regardant

although the animal may be interpreted as about to jump ["amb actitud de saltar"] it has its head turned back in the pose usually described as "regardant" -- the sex of the animal is clearly noticeable
Scene Description: although the animal may be interpreted as about to jump ["amb actitud de saltar"] it has its head turned back in the pose usually described as "regardant" -- the sex of the animal is clearly noticeable
Copyright Statement: Image copyright © Lander Sarasola, 2016
Image Source: digital photograph taken 14 August 2016 by Lander Sarasola
Copyright Instructions: Image and permission received via Mikel Unanue (e-mail of 29 August 2016)

INFORMATION

Font ID: 02599SON
Object Type: Other
Object Details: sarcophagus or oil tank
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th - 13th century, Romanesque
Workshop/Group/Artisan: oil font? / pica d'oli?
Cognate Fonts: Several others in the Aneu, Val d'Aran, etc. -- The lion said to have a human face is not dissimilar from the one incised on the oil-font at nearby Sorpe.
Church / Chapel Name: Església Parroquial de Sant Just i Sant Pastor / Iglesia Parroquial de San Justo y San Pastor
Font Location in Church: Now located at the end of the nave, between the baptistery chapel and the chapel of the Rosary [capella del Roser]
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Justus & St. Pastor
Church Address: Son, 25589 Lerida / Lleida, Spain
Site Location: Lérida / Lleida, Cataluña / Catalunya, Spain, Europe
Directions to Site: Son is a small hamlet located 3 km SW of Esterri d'Aneu, in the Pallars Sobirà region of Catalonia, just S-E of the vall d'Aran, past the Bonaigua mountain port
Ecclesiastic Region: Diócesis de Urgel
Historical Region: Valle de Aran / Vall d'Aran
Additional Comments: recycled font / sarcophagus font / tomb font / oil font: originally a sarcophagus (?), then an oil font?
Font Notes:
Described in Mestre i Godes (1999) and Trepas (1993). A second old font of the rectangular or trapezoidal type; according to Trepat (1993), this object was discovered [in the 1980s] when the retable was removed for restoration; it was buried by the door of Sant Pau; it was unearthed and located in the nave. It is a granite piece shaped like a sarcophagus, which may very well have been its original use; it was however used for many years as [one of] the church's "oil font". It is larger than the other oil fonts of the area and has a stone lid with a wooden access trap or cover; three of the sides are decorated: a lion with a simplified human face [although it is common way of representing lion heads in not-so-fine Romanesque objects], a rampant lion and a bird (eagle?) with a rabbit in its claws (Mestre i Godes, 1999). Described and illustrated in Catalunya romànica (1984- , vol. XV: 152-153), where a suggested 12th or 13th century is given; this source notes also the human-like face of the lion on the narrow side; it is also noted here that the image of the horse carved on one of the long sides of the object may have been a later addition, since it does not stylistically fit with the other animals [NB: is this a reference to the other oil font in this church?]. Cabestany, Matas & Palau (2005) suggest attribution to a local rural workshop of the late 12th or early 13th century.
Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Lander Sarasola for his photographs of this church and fonts

COORDINATES

UTM: 31T 343904 4720472
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 42.620881, 1.096597
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 42° 37′ 15.17″ N, 1° 5′ 47.75″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, granite
Number of Pieces: two [font and cover]
Font Shape: rectangular, unmounted
Basin Interior Shape: rectangular
Basin Exterior Shape: rectangular
Basin Total Height: 38 cm
Font Height (less Plinth): 38 cm
Trapezoidal Basin: 135 x 64 cm
Notes on Measurements: Catalunya romànica (1984- , vol. XV: 152)

LID INFORMATION

Date: 12th or 13th century
Material: stone
Notes: The stone cover has a wooden porthole for access to the lamp oil which used to be stored in it

REFERENCES

  • Cabestany i Fort, Joan-F., El romànic de la vall d'Àneu, Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans, 2005, p. 104-105
  • Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana, Catalunya romànica, Barcelona: Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1984-, vol. XV: 152-153
  • Mestre i Godes, Jesús, Viatge al romànic català: les valls pirenenques, Barcelona: RACC Club-Edicions 62, 1999, p. 95
  • Trepat, Roser, Conjunt monumental de Son, Lleida: Consell Cultural de les Valls d'Àneu, 1993, p. 36-37