Backyard

INFORMATION

FontID: 05720BAC
Church/Chapel: Backyards kyrka
Country Name: Sweden
Location: Blekinge, Blekinge län
Directions to Site: Located in the Lunds stift
Historical Region: Blekinge län, Medelsta haräd
Font Location in Church: Inside the church
Century and Period: 13th century (late), Romanesque
Cognate Fonts: The base of this font is similar to the one at Torhamn, in the same area
Described and illustrated in Sveriges kyrkor: Blekinge (1926-1965, Bd. I: 370-372; Bd. V: 81-82) as Romanesque baptismal font of the Gotland type ["Gotländsk typ"] made of red limestone; it consists of a plain hemispherical basin mounted on a short round pedestal base equally plain. SK... (ibid.) points out that the base of this font is quite similar to the one in Torhamn, in this same area [NF: the basin of the Torhamn font is missing]. A photograph of the interior of Backyards kyrka looking east shows a baptismal font in the centre of the nave, just west of the "altar ring"; this is not the Romanesque font listed here; it looks lake a much later font and is not included in this index (SK..., ibid., fig. 402, p. 367; the photograph was taken by W. Anderson in 1915).

MEDIUM AND MEASUREMENTS

Material: stone, limestone (reddish colour)
Number of Pieces: two
Font Shape: hemispheric (mounted)
Basin Interior Shape: round
Basin Exterior Shape: round
Notes on Measurements: NB: the measurements for this font are given in SK... as "H. 54 cm, Diam. 56 cm"

REFERENCES

Crossley, Frederick Herbert, English Church Craftsmanship: an Introduction to the Work of the Mediaval Period and Some Account of Later Developments, London: B.T. Batsford, 1941