Chenonceaux

Described by E. Pépin in the Dictionnaire des églises... (1966- ) as a baptismal font donated by Catherine of Medici [1519-1589]; the queen, consort of Henry II, king of France, inhabited the castle at Chenonceaux. Described and illustrated in Le patrimoine des communes d'Indre-et-Loire (2001, v. 1: 213) as an octagonal mounted baptismal font of the 16th century donated to the parish ca. 1560; one of the basin sides has an enlarged shield shape built in, now blank; the base is a round pedestal with indentions and a central ring, all of it otherwise plain. The wooden cover is octagonal with vertical sides in the lower volume, while the upper part is pyramidal with a cross finial; the cover is now plain. This same source (ibid.) mentions that "les panneaux en boix armoriés aux armes de la reine ont été bûchés à la Révolution" [NB: it is not clear from the context whether these wooden panels with the Queen's arms that were removed during the Revolution were on the font or on the cover]