Villaescusa de Haro

Described and illustrated in Nieto Taberné (2001) as a beautiful Romanesque basin of a baptismal font ornamented with a band of geometric pattern (like the fonts at Valdemeca, La Almarcha and Laguna del Marquesado [all of them in this province and all of them with entries in this Index]; this pattern can be read as double zig-zag, triangular patterns, 6-point stars inside hexagons or 6-petal flowers inside hexagons); the underbowl has a blind arcade of Mozarabic arches; the same source [cf. supra] informs of the presence of an inscription in Gothic lettering on the upper basin side, right around the rim, which gives the name of the stone-carver, Martin, and tells that the font was commissioned by the town's council ["conceio"]. It is not clear whether the presence of a "letra gótica" would affect the dating of this basin in Nieto Taberné's mind. Although the source does not mention it, it is obvious that the base is of a later period, a short baluster-like pedestal on a round lower base ending up in a square. [NB: the main two periods of this church are probably the 13th century, when the church was built, and the 16th century, date of the chapel dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin; the two periods may well correspond respectively to the basin and base of the font]. The Enciclopedia del románico en Castilla-La Mancha: Cuenca (2009) notes this font as similar to the one at La Almarcha, also in Cuenca.