Chenganoor / Chengannur

Noted and illustrated in Carita (2009): "In the case of the baptismal font of the Jacobite church in Chenganoor, the entire basin assumes the shape of a large lotus flower, suggesting a strong affinity between the baptism ritual and the symbology of the lotus flower [...] symbolising the emergence of life". The font consists of a hemispherical basin with a band of floral motifs all around the upper basin side, the sides and underbowl covered in a rib pattern that includes several Indian-looking cherubs; the pedestal base is star-shape at the top, then quadranqular with quadrupeds (lions?) at 90-degree angles and a moulded lower base. There is a probably unrelated object decorated with some of the elements mentioned above illustrated in Wikimedia in a digital photograph taken 24 March 2018 by T M Cyriac [https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Syrian_Church,_Chengannur8.jpg] [accessed 26 August 2025] captioned: "Stone oil lamp"; its consists of a succession of sections resembling vessels: the two top ones appear to be octagonal and tapering towards the base; the next shape down is supposedly decorated with large lotus flowers but they look very much like bi-corporate lions with the maned heads at the corners of the square shape; the last volume down is the one that has four large cherub-like busts.