Granada No. 2 / Casa del Chapiz

Described in Cabanelas (1980-1981: 21-34). A marble basin now in the Museo Arqueológico de Granada, where it is described as a ribbed font/fountain ["pila gallonada de mármol blanco"] originally from the Casa del Chapiz and dated to the 360 Hejira (970-9712 A.D.); the object has eight lobes both inside and out; around the upper basin side, on the outside, there appears to be a delicate ornamental pattern; every other lobe has a hole on its upper part, in character with its function as fountain; there is a large centre drain hole in the bottom of the basin; there is no base. Although the size and shape matches several baptismal fonts in this Index, there is no proof that it was ever used for that purpose. The object is a small example of the larger fountains found in the Alhambra, for example. The shape is one that appears in some Gothic fonts, although more commonly in the quatrilobed shape. [We are grateful to Javier Torrens of Pamplona, Spain, for the images of this object]