Chirat-l'Eglise / Chirat l'Église

INFORMATION

FontID: 03867CHI
Church/Chapel: Eglise Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Étienne
Church Patron Saints: St. Peter & St. Stephen
Country Name: France
Location: Allier, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Directions to Site: In the canton d'Ébreuil, arrondissement de Montluçon
Century and Period: 12th century, Romanesque
Church Notes: There are several items of interest in this church, especially two 12th century capitals ("Les orants" and "La déroute des démons") and a rather original limestone "fontaine liturgique" of the 16th century with a drawer-like tap.
Listed and illustrated in the Patrimoine des communes de l'Allier (1999, v. 1, p. 290) as the original baptismal font, replaced by a new one in the 18th century; it is a large hemispheric basin with no apparent ornamentation which rests directly on the ground. [NB: the illustration in the source (Ibid.) shows it covered in lichens]

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, granite (granit de la Bosse)
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: hemispheric (unmounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round

REFERENCES

Le Patrimoine des communes de l'Allier, Charenton-le-Pont: FLOHIC, 1999