Belleme / Beleme / Belême / Bellême

The 17th century Baroque stone baptismal font has an odd shape and could merit the rare title of "triple-font", since it has a main font, roughly chalice-shaped with a very rounded basin, but also has two much smaller basins, one to each side of the main one; these "basinettes" are shaped and ornamented exactly the same as the main one; the basins are adorned with rich garlands all around; the upper base, shaped like a chalice handle, is rounded and sits on a square plinth. The "baldaquin" is really external to the font, more like a back-drop to it, with a central scene, the Baptism of Christ by John the Baptist, and angels in niches on the other visible sides. According to Huard, the font and the stone baldaquin of Saint-Sauveur de Bellême are the work of Duran, a sculptor from Mans, in 1684; the baldaquin, similar to the one at Bretagnolles but done in stone. (Huard, 1928) [NB: the two baldaquins are totally different; Bretagnolles' is a light octagonal waist-high structure suporting a shallow top on four very slender carved colonnettes, whereas the so-called baldaquin at Bellême is a large stone construction that acts as a back-drop for the font, looking more like an altar, the whole area enclosed in a low metal railing]. Listed and illustrated also in the Dictionnaire des églises... (1966- ). Listed in Mérimée [ref.: PA00110741]: "Fonts baptismaux : vasque en pierre sculptée ornée de feuilles d'acanthe, de guirlandes de fleurs et de rubans, adossée à un élément d'architecture en pierre, colonnes, corniche, fronton cintré, décor en bas-relief 'Le Baptême du Christ', décor en haut-relief représentant Dieu le Père (fronton), angelots [...] Une des statues d'angelots a été volée". Illustrated in Mémoire [ref.: AP22L03498]