Lorges

INFORMATION

Font ID: 04237LOR

Object Type: Baptismal Font1

Font Century and Period/Style: 16th century

Workshop/Group/Artisan: double font

Church / Chapel Name: Église Saint-Martin

Font Location in Church: Inside the church

Church Patron Saint(s): St. Martin of Tours

Church Notes: church listed in Mérimée ref.: PA00098467]: "L'église se compose d'une nef de la fin du 15e siècle, avec un collatéral nord du 16e, et se termine par une abside polygonale. Au 16e siècle, une chapelle seigneuriale a été construite et présente une voûte à cinq clés pendantes richement sculptées. Un clocher, qui paraît être de la seconde moitié du 16e siècle, se trouve à l'extrémité occidentale du bas-côté nord."

Church Address: 4 Bis Rue de l'Abreuvoir 41370 Lorges, France

Site Location: Loir-et-Cher, Centre-Val de Loire, France, Europe

Directions to Site: Located off the D25, 20 km E of Oucques, about 40 km E of Vendôme

Ecclesiastic Region: Diocese de Blois

Font Notes: Click to view

Described and illustrated by F. Lesueur in the Dictionnaire des églises... (1966- ) as a baptismal double-font of the 16th century; the two uneven basins -the left is larger- are ornamented with a crenelated pattern at the rim and with ribbed pattern on the underbowl; the larger basin is octagonal, the smaller appears round, and they are both from a single stone block. The separate stems of the base are ornamented one with foliage motif, the other with heads of children, lion and of bearded fauns; although the lower base is not visible in the source illustration, it is probably a shared one, as in most of the fonts of this type. Lesueur [cf. supra] states that this font is, without a doubt, the work of a great sculptor. The font cover is also noteworthy, since not many such ornamented lids are left on French fonts today; the cover of the main basin is octagonal and consists of three volumes, the upper being a large finial statue of St. John [the Baptist?] surrounded by little heads. This font cover is dated 1544 and is probably of the same date as the font itself. The smaller basin has a much more modest cover, a rather plain and flat octagonal lid with a small ornamental finial. Listed in Palissy [ref.: PM41000233]: "Fonts baptismaux [...] La cuve baptismale est réunie à un petit évier et surmontée d'un couvercle de bois peint avec une petite balustrade sculptée et une statuette de saint Jean [...] 1544 [...] H = 105 ; la = 108 ; pr = 64 ; Dimension du couvercle : h = 76 [...] Inscription avec date autour du soubassement du couvercle : CESTVY CY. EST MON FILZ. BIEN AYME. DV QVEL IAY. PRINS MON. BON PLAISIR. 1544. S MATTHIEV 3". Listed in Mémoire [ref.: AP41W01181, AP41W01473, AP41W01474, AP41W01475].

COORDINATES

UTM: 31T 387669 5297874

Latitude & Longitude (Decimal): 47.8244, 1.4992

Latitude & Longitude (DMS): 47° 49′ 27.84″ N, 1° 29′ 57.12″ E

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone

Font Shape: double-font, octagonal, mounted

Basin Exterior Shape: double basin, 1) octagonal 2) round

Font Height (less Plinth): 105 cm*

Trapezoidal Basin: 64 x 108 cm*

Notes on Measurements: * Palissy [cf. FontNotes]

INSCRIPTION

Inscription Language: French

Inscription Location: lower end of the cover

Inscription Text: "CESTVY CY. EST MON FILZ. BIEN AYME. DV QVEL IAY. PRINS MON. BON PLAISIR. 1544. S MATTHIEV 3"

Inscription Notes: [cf. FontNotes]

Inscription Source: [cf. FontNotes]

LID INFORMATION

Date: 1544

Material: wood

Apparatus: no

Notes: [cf. FontNotes]

REFERENCES