Sagaseta

Described and illustrated in the Catálogo Monumental de Navarra (1990?- , vol. IV*: 240 and pl. 340); described in Domeño (1992: 174-175): medieval baptismal font; both sources mention a ribbed basin ["gallonada"] raised on a cylindrical base; Domeño (ibid.) mentions tha the latter is ornamented with a head; the CMdeN does not mention any ornamentation of the base and describes also a square plinth not mentioned in Domeño. Our image source -a ca. 1943 photograph from the Archivo Uranga- shows at least three crudely-rendered human heads on the stem of the base, and a lower base or plinth that appears circular; the photograph in CMdeN (ibid., pl. 340) shows a square plinth indeed, and the stem of the base appears to have a protrusion on it that may be one of the heads [the reproduction is somewhat fuzzy]. The ornamentation on the basin sides, vertical ribs with inserts at the base, and a similar pattern repeated on the underbowl, is not uncommon in medieval fonts of Navarre, either of this exact variety (e.g.: Eransus, Ardanaz de Egüés) or of the more ellaborate type (e.g.: Elcano), in which the inserts are replaced by small human heads. A plain flat wooden lid appears covering the basin. Noted in Plazaola Artola (2008?). [We are grateful to the Institución Príncipe de Viana, of Pamplona, Spain, for the image of this font from their Archivo Uranga].