Priesca

Miguel Vigil (1987 c1887) mentions the baptistery as part of the church but not the font itself. It is described and illustrated in García de Castro (1995): vat/barrel-shaped sandstone baptismal font dated to the year of the consecration of the church, 921 AD [NB: the author argues that the 'opus signinum' on wich the base of the font is located has not been altered since the original date of the church]; the basin is ornamented with a large roll moulding at the upper rim; there are three wide (8-10 cm) cuts or notches in this surface and the south side has a quadrangular protrusion or 'mensula' just below the moulding; it is mounted on a short (20 cm) circular base slightly wider than the bottom of the basin. Described in Alvarez Martínez (1999) as one in a group of barrel-shaped fonts dated to the 9th-11th century of the same design type as the later font originally from the church of San Pedro in Villanueva [Mazariegos?] now kept at the Museo Arqueológico Nacional in Madrid. [NB: besides the obvious cognates from nearby churchs, those from San Pedro de Villanueva and Gramedo, this type of vat- or barrel-shaped object appears also in some of the French baptisteries of the southeast, usually in addition to the main sunken font; other vat- or barrel-shaped baptismal font, especially those with carved staves and rings simulating the actual morphology of the barrel are not uncommon in the Romanesque period; of special note is the magnificent vat-shaped marble font at Perpignan [cf. Index entry]]. On-site notes: the vat-shaped font is still in the same location; the notches at opposite ends are actually the damage resulting from the forceful removal of the old cover staples; the protrusion at the front -upper basin side- appears to be simply decorative, perhaps painted with a particular colour or motif in the past.