Hardecourt-aux-Bois

An ancient baptismal font in Hardecourt-aux-Bois is noted in Decagny (1844), who mentions the mid-18th century church there as having nothing noteworthy other than "les fonts baptismaux fort anciens"; Decagny suggests that the font may have originated in an earlier chapel dedicated to St. Martin established by the monks who were originally from Arrouaise and had set up a priory in nearby Curlu. Decagny (ibid.) gives the name of the then vicar (?), "MM. Hutellier", the same priest who informed Roger [cf. infra]. The font is noted in Roger et al. (1844): "On voit dans cette église des fonts baptismaux, paraissant remonter à une époque assez reculée. Les bords du bassin sont entourés d'un ornement qu'on croit appartenir au style roman. Les chapiteaux des quatre colonnettes qui soutiennent ces fonts représentent des feuilles de chêne d'un travail fort lourd et des figures d'hommes grossièrement sculptées" [the entry is footnoted: "Renseignements communiqués par M. l'abbé Hutelier, desservant d'Hardecourt"]. Listed by Enlart (1902) as a 13th-century square mounted font from the atelier de Villers-Carbonnel of Somme. Listed in Palissy [ref.: PM80000744]: "fonts baptismaux [...] pierre [...] La cuve pédiculée est flanquée de quatre colonnettes avec chapiteaux à crochets [...] 13e siècle [...] oeuvre disparue". A photograph by Camille Enlart [cf. supra] shows a table-top basin with a band of dog-tooth or nail-head pattern all around; graded underbowl with very large caoitals of human figures and stiff-leaf motif, the belly of the basin bulging out; base consists of a plain broad central shaft and four detached columns at 90-degree angles, the latter with moulded bases. The base of the font appears quite battered in Enlart's photograph. The font has a plain flat wooden cover on it; appears modern. [NB: was the font destroyed when the church was damaged in WWI?]