Buissiere / La Buissière / La Buissiere

Described and illustrated in Nordmag [www.nordmag.com]: baptismal font made of local sandstone and dated 1627 by an inscription on it; the font consists of a roughly polygonal basin, much narrower at the bottom, raised on a central shaft and three aouter colonnettes, all of which rests on an octagonal plinth, identified as the work of "Guio, piqueur de grès, très renommé dans le pays et dont la famille a ses racines à La Buissière" in Paul van Wymeersch. On the front side of the basin two angels with displayed wings hold palm leaves in one hand while the other holds a shield charged with the coat of arms of the count Jacques de Maulde; below the shield the date 1627 appears engraved; the base consists of a slender carved shaft in the centre and three outer colonnettes shaped in the form of the three theological virtues: Faith, Hope and Charity (Hope holds a anchor in the left hand and an open book in the right hand,; on the open pages of the book appears, again, the date 1627 [NB: it is not clear from this source where the specific descriptions and identifications come from; some of them may originate in the captions by the Monuments Historiques, since the font as well as other items in this church are "objets mobiliers protégés"]. The metal cover appears modern.