Roquebilliere No. 1 / Roquebillière

Results: 21 records

Click to view images and/or subjects

design element - motifs - rope moulding

Scene Description: several vertical and one horizontal on the basin sides -- notice the rough, unfinished right side of the basin; that side may have been left rough to fit into a blind corner or built into the wall

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

information

Image Source: digital image of field notes taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

information

Image Source: digital image of field notes taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

symbol - cross - Greek - Maltese - in circle

Scene Description: said to be related to the Templars who built this church

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

symbol - shield - coat of arms - House of Savoy

Scene Description: seen here on the left -- identification in Le Patrimoine des communes des Alpes-Maritimes (1999: v. 2, p. 753)

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

symbol - star - 6-point - in a circle

Scene Description: it can also be read as a six-arm cross

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of basin - upper view

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church exterior - tower - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church exterior in context - southeast view

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church exterior in context - southeast view - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - altar and retable

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - altar and retable

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - bells

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - capital - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - capital - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - capital - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - capital - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - detail - ram's head

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - lectern

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

view of church interior - retable - detail

Image Source: digital image of a photograph taken 15 June 2001 by BSI

INFORMATION

FontID: 03690ROQ

Church/Chapel: Eglise paroissiale Saint-Michel-de-Gast

Church Patron Saints: St. Michael

Church Location: 1 Place des Anciens Combattants, 06450 Roquebillière, France

Country Name: France

Location: Alpes-Maritimes, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

Directions to Site: Located off the M2565, W of the M71, about 45 km N of Nice

Font Location in Church: Inside the church, at the NW corne.West end, north side. Originally located in a baptistery chapel N of the W door, but moved to the present location in the 1960s.

Century and Period: 16th century, Gothic

Credit and Acknowledgements: We are grateful to Mme. Mado Perichon, church warden, for facilitating access to the site and for the detailed account of the history of the village, the church and many of the objects in it. Mme Perichon and her husband, M. Nesic, are the creators and keepers of the quaint museum of religious objects collected in this church]

Church Notes: church mentioned 1141 and may have replace an earlier church of the 6thC; donated to the Hospitallers in the 12thC, who kep it until the late-18thC; re-built 16thC -- listed in Mérimée [ref.: PA00080818]: "Eglise édifiée au début du 16e siècle ; clocher réparé au 17e siècle (entre 1659 et 1666). En 1865-1868, importante campagne de travaux. Don de l'horloge par Napoléon III."

Font Notes: Click to view font notes

Listed and illustrated in Le Patrimoine des Alpes-Maritimes (2000: v.2, p. 753) as a baptismal font of the 16th century. The almost basin is irregular and crudely carved; there are two motifs visible on the illustration available: one is a six-pointed star/flower in a circle and the other is a shield with a cross identified in the source as the coat of arms of the House of Savoy. The short stem of the base is cylindrical as well and the lower base is round at the top, with a horizontal rope moulding and square at the bottom. On-site notes: the combination of crude work and design, motifs and the presence of the House of Savoy coat of arms make this a confusing font to date and figure out. The church of St-Michel-le-Gast was the property of the Knights Templar, said to have left it ca. 1140, and one can find Templar's crosses, the ram and other Templar motifs in several areas of the church. The font itself has one such cross on one of the sides and, were it not for the other motifs, one would be tempted to date it much earlier. Another oddity about this font is the material: it appears to be made of a type of lava stone, maybe basalt, a rare choice for a baptismal font. The church warden was of the opinion that this font is the original one. Two of the sides are now rough: the back, which must have always been so, therefore the font was originally designed to be agaisnt a wall, and the other side has been altered, wahtever motifs there were, no longer discernible.

COORDINATES

Church Latitude & Longitude Decimal: 44.017875, 7.30985

Church Latitude & Longitude DMS: 44° 1′ 4.35″ N, 7° 18′ 35.46″ E

UTM: 32T 364534 4875247

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, lava stone

Number of Pieces: three?

Font Shape: rectangular (mounted)

Basin Interior Shape: round

Basin Exterior Shape: rectangular

Drainage Notes: now sealed

Rim Thickness: 6-18 cm

Diameter (inside rim): 63 cm

Basin Depth: 37 cm

Height of Basin Side: 39-60 cm

Basin Total Height: 39-60 cm

Height of Base: 51 cm

Font Height (less Plinth): 111 cm

Trapezoidal Basin: 80-93 cm

Notes on Measurements: BSI [NB: the basin is very irregular, roughly rectangular with trimmed corners]

REFERENCES

Le Patrimoine des communes des Alpes-Maritimes, Charenton: FLOHIC, 2000