Beaufay / Bellofaido

Listed in Palissy [ref.: PM72000037]: "Fonts baptismaux et leur couvercle [...] Partie en pierre : de forme octogonale, avec prolongement en pierre ; comporte trois lions sculptés [...] 16e siècle [...] Couvercle en bois : du 16e siècle également, est aussi en octogone ; affecte la forme d'un démon (?) surmonté d'une croix [...] H = 162 (Dimension couvercle compris) [...] Inscription : vasa sacra et salutis gloria (en caractères fleuris sur le couvercle). Illustrated in Mémoire [ref.: OA072_20207200103 and AP72W02664]. Described and illustrated in Le patrimoine des comunes de la Sarthe (2001, v. 1: 82) as a baptismal double font of the 16th century of an unknown sculptor but with oriental influence ["d'inspiration orientale"]; the main basin is octagonal, the second basin resides in the prolongation of one of the main basin sides; like many other French double-fonts, this one has separate bases for each basin, sedente lions facing outwards. The font is made of limestone. The cover consists of a dome with a finial cross and a lower polygonal extension, the two volumes corresponding to the main basin and the prolongation of the secondary basin respectively; it is made of oak and copper. The same source (ibid.) suggests that the font may have been a gift of a noble family of Beaufay.