Minzac

The baptismal font here was noted in a 1948 by Salet Francis 'Les fonts baptismaux de Minzac (Dordogne) [compte-rendu]" in the Bulletin Monumental (Année 1948 106 p. 168) [https://www.persee.fr/doc/bulmo_0007-473x_1948_num_106_1_9825_t1_0168_0000_3] [accessed 10 August 2025], as being of the Romanesque period and abandoned; it provides approximate measurements (1 m in height and 80 cm on the side, decorated with colonnettes at the corners and an arcade on each side between them; it is described as a crude work and dated probably to the late-11th century by comparison to the font at Courpiac (Gironde). The monolithic quadrangular basin of the original 11th or 12th century baptismal font of the old church of Minzac was discovered in the cemetery and is now on display at the museum of the town-hall at nearby Villefranche-de-Lonchat since 1939. It appears to be the only thing that remains of the old Romanesque church at Minzac. The quadrangular monolithic basin appears square, almost cubic, but is little taller than wider; the sides are decorated with columns with capitals and bases; there is considerable piece missing from one of the sides of the upper rim, consistant with the location of the hardware for the cover lock. [source: Mairie de Minzac, www.pays-de-bergerac.com/mairie/minzac] [26 May 2004]. Listed in Palissy [ref.: PM24000421]: "Fonts baptismaux datant du 12e siècle, provenant de l'église de Minzac (canton de Villefranche-de-Lonchat) [...] plan (rectangulaire) ; élévation (droite) ; colonne (4) [...] Arcs cintrés sur colonnettes engagées, colonnettes angulaires. [...] bibliographie : Lafond-Grellety (Jacques), "Visite au musée de Villefranche-de-Lonchat", Périgord Actualités, numéro 583, 5 août 1972, p. 1-3".