Merksem lez Anvers / Merksem-lèz-Anvers

Fragments of a medieval baptismal font ornamented with an arcade, figures, etc. Studied and illustrated in Ghislain (1980-1981) and (1986), as a baptismal font of Tournai inspiration decorated with an arcade that contains Christ, the Apostles and the Evangelists, belonging to the same "production" as the font at Wauthier-Braine. Ghislain (ibid.) suggests that the blind arcade of other Romanesque is just a simplification of the fuller version, and that the ornamentation on this font harks back to Tournai models. Catalogued and illustrated in Ghislain (2009) as a number of fragments of a baptismal font of the Namurois group, filiation de Saint-Séverin-en-Condroz, made of limestone (calcaire viséen (V2) de Meuse), ca. 1155-1160, a font already fragmented and its parts dispersed by the end of the 19th century, a number of which came up for sale at the "foire des antiquaires de Maastricht en 1994" when they were acquired to be displayed at the "trésor de la collégiale Saint-Servais; all of these have served Ghislain (ibid.) to make a virtual reconstruction of much of the font: square basin with a round moulding around the opening of the round inner basin, the corner spandrels decorated with the symbols of the Evangelists [only John's eagle is missing]; three of the sides of the square basin are covered in a continuous arcade of round arches supported on columns with capitals and bases, each arch containing a haloed and bearded male figure [a few have been defaced], including one of Christ identified by his cruciferous halo, holding a book in both hands; most of the figures are bare-feet, including Christ, but at least two of them are shod; a very large key at the end of one of the fragments appears to belong to a figure from another fragment, surely St. Peter; one of the sides has no arcade, and has a haloed standing figure holding a scroll in his left hand, while three figures recline at his feet on the left side; also in this fragment is a hand pointing to the standing figure, but the rest has been lost, though there is enough left of it for Ghislain (ibid.) to suggest this was a representation of the legend of St. Nicholas. While recognising the Tournai influences, Ghislain (ibid.) remarks that the dimensions, style and the stone "sont incontestablement mosans", and notes similarities with the Namurois fonts at Saint-Séverin-en-Condroz, Fairon, Othée, Rethel, Bléhen, Bomal, Gentinnes, Hanzinne, Sclayn, and even Bouvignes. Sid Pubben (2019) argues that these fragments of the Belgian font “of Merksem” are from the same font as the fragments held at the Treasury of the Basilica of Saint Servatius in Maastricht. [cf. BSI entre for Maastricht No.3] The catalogue of the Collectie Centre Céramique, Maastricht, illustrates a basin fragment of a stone font dated ca.1170 [http://centreceramique.adlibhosting.com/detail.aspx] [accessed 6 March 2022]. The fragment is part of a side of a square font decorated with an arcade of round arches of which three remain but probably had four or five such; in each arch is a standing figure, haloed, male, bearded and wearing priestly garments; two of the figures hold the garments with their hands but a third figure has both hands holding the column of the arcade; two of the three figures wear shoues but the third has naked feet; the spandrels have a three-leaf palmette in them; the capitals of the arcade are simple leaf capitals but the end corner capital is semi-hidden behind a castellated shape that is actually part of the very large key held by the figure in the next fragment [cf. infra], a fragment from Merksem-lèz-Anvers now in the MRAH, Brussles; the bases of the columns are moulded. The lower end of the fragment block appears to have bulges below that suggest the base was columnar. ***THIS FRAGMENT IS LOCATED NOW in the Musées royaux d'art et d'histoire de Bruxelles]? -- ONLY THE PHOTOGRAPH OF ONE OF THE FRAGMENTS IS IN THE Collectie Centre Céramique, Maastricht ***