Venasque No. 2 / Vénasque

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Results: 2 records

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view of basin

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INFORMATION

Font ID: 03643VEN
Object Type: Baptismal Font2?
Date Visited: 2001-06-23
Font Century and Period/Style: 6th - 7th century, Early Christian
Church / Chapel Name: [in the Baptistery of Venasque]
Font Location in Church: In the centre of the building
Church Address: Pl. du Presbytère, 84210 Venasque, France -- Tel.: +33 4 90 66 62 01
Site Location: Vaucluse, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France, Europe
Directions to Site: Vénasque lies 12 kms SE of Carpentras on the D4, about the same distance NW of Avignon.
Font Notes:
Corblet's source, l'abbé Pougnet, describes the basin in the Baptistery of Vénasque as an ancient octagonal "piscine", which he dates to the 6th century A.D., measuring 1.8 m. in diameter and 30 cm in depth; the bottom is covered in concrete [cf. other such French basins in Nantes, Lyon, etc.] and rests directly on the rock ground. Pougnet also reported that the excavations carried out [ca. 1868?] had unearthed the water intake and drainage conduits. Enlart (1902), however, dates the font to the 11th cent.] An illustration in Chastel (1966, p. [7]) shows a barrel-like container in the middle of the baptistry: "sans support, selon le modele antique [... ] prennent parfois l'aspect d'un cuvier". (ibid., p. 287). On-site notes: the piscina is rather shallow witt a large conduit feeding into its centre, all clearly visible now (June 2001) under a plate of glass. There are two parallel outlets on the baptistery wall [cf. Images area] believed to serve a purpose related to the baptismal funtion of the building. There are two other objects, one of which, is a barrel-shaped font similar to the one found in Frejus.

COORDINATES

UTM: 31T 672027 4873777
Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 43.997, 5.14554
Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 43° 59′ 49.2″ N, 5° 8′ 43.94″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, unknown
Font Shape: sunken font, octagonal
Basin Interior Shape: octagonal
Basin Exterior Shape: octagonal
Drainage System: Side drainage system
Drainage Notes: The conduit is 100 cm long and 41 cm deep
Diameter (includes rim): 163-177 cm
Basin Depth: 34 cm (75 cm at drain conduit)
Notes on Measurements: BSI [NB: the depth of the piscina is 34 cm, but to the bottom of the drain counduit is 75 cm. The drain counduit is 100 cm long and 45 cm wide]

REFERENCES

  • Les premiers monuments chrétiens de la France, Paris: A. Picard ; Ministère ce la culture et de la francophonie, Direction du patrimoine, Sous-direction de l'archéologue, 1995-1998, vol. 1: p. 186-189
  • Chastel, André, Histoire générale des Églises de France, Belgique, Luxembourg, Suisse, France: Robert Laffont, 1966, p. 7, 287
  • Corblet, Jules, Histoire dogmatique, liturgique et archéologique du sacrement de baptême, Paris: V. Palme, 1881-1882, vol. 2, p. 74-75
  • Enlart, Camille, Manuel d'archéologie française depuis les temps mérovingiens jusqu'à la Renaissance, Paris: Alphonse Picard & fils, 1902, p. 772
  • Labande, L.H., "Le baptistère de Venasque, Vaucluse, France", Bulletin archeologique du Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, 1904
  • Narcisse, Jean-Claude, Art roman en Provence, Rennes: Ouest France, 1979, p. 25-26