Tortosa No. 1 [orig. from Peñíscola]

The basin from a fountain [not a font] originally from the castle of Peñíscola, south in the Valencian coast, where anti-pope Benedict XIII [Pedro de Luna] took refuge after his deposition, made by master Pere Oller and now installed as the baptismal font at the cathedral of Torotosa. Partially described and illustrated in Español (2002: 309): "Pila de Tortosa. Procedent del Palau de Benet XIII de Penyiscola, on degué servir com a pica d'alguna font o cisterna. Els emblemes del Papa l'identifiquen com a promotor, i la temàtica que ornamenta l'exterior de la peça en proclama el caràcter profà. Estilisticament s'emparenta amb Pere Oller i el material emprat apunta a Girona, ja que es tracta de calcària nummulítica." The octagonal basin has vertical sides, with a column at each angle marking the arris; each panel is profusely decorated with angels and other motifs, some profane [i.e., putto heads] as it would correspond to the non-liturgical nature of the original piece; two of the sides -at least- bear shields crowned by the papal triple-tiara; of these, one bears the unmistakable coat-of-arms of the Luna family to which Benedict XIII belonged; the underbowl is horizontal with no apparent ornamentation; the base is octagonal, with the central area protruding out in the traditional centre-ring manner and is ornamented with a round moulding. Illustrated in Barral i Altet (1994).