Herblay No. 1

INFORMATION

Font ID: 03942HER
Object Type: Baptismal Font1
Font Century and Period/Style: 12th century, Romanesque
Church / Chapel Name: Église Saint-Martin
Font Location in Church: Back inside the church
Church Patron Saint(s): St. Martin of Tours
Site Location: Val-d'Oise, Île-de-France, France, Europe
Directions to Site: In the canton d'Herblay, arrondissement d'Argenteuil
Additional Comments: recycled font: used in the presbitery garden as a "jardiniere" between 1900 and 1970, when it was put back in the church
Font Notes:
Listed and illustrated in Le patrimoine des communes du Val-d'Oise (1999) as a plain oval monolithic font dated in it to the 12th century. The basin is wider than the base and has a double torus at the upper rim. It appears to be broken in several parts and much of the upper part is missing. The internal partition groove -which would not have existed in the original font if the dating is correct- appears visible in the illustration. The source [cf. supra] informs that it was relegated to serve as flower-pot between 1900 and 1970 in the presbitery garden, and it is now back inside the church.

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone?
Number of Pieces: one
Font Shape: oval, mounted
Basin Interior Shape: oval
Basin Exterior Shape: oval
Diameter (includes rim): 88 cm*
Font Height (less Plinth): 128 cm
Notes on Measurements: *given in Le patrimoine des comunes du Val-d'Oise (1999, v. 1, p. 387) as "longueur"; we assume it refers to the wider diametre of the oval shaped basin

REFERENCES

  • Tewkesbury Abbey (a Pitkin guide), Andover, Hants.: Pitkin Pictorials, 1992, vol. 1, p. 387