Arcen / Arse / Árse

The entry for Arcen in the Voorloopige lijst der Nederlandsche monumenten van geschiedenis en kunst. Deel VIII, I. De provincie Limburg (Amby-Meer), p. [6], (Utrecht: A. Oosthoek, 1926) reports the 15th-century basin of a stone baptismal font decorated with heads in this church; the base is missing [="Fraaie hardsteenen doopvont (XV) met koppen; het onderstuk ontbreekt."] [source: [www.dbnl.org/tekst/_voo016voor07_01/_voo016voor07_01_0004.php] [accessed 7 December 2015]]. The baptismal font in this re-built church (the former building was destroyed in WWII bombing raids and later demolished) consists of an octagonal stone basin decorated with heads at 90-degree angles on the upper sides; between the heads are two parallel mouldings with a deep scotia between them; the rounded underbowl is plain; the basin is now raised on a modern woodn pedestal base; we have no information on the disappeared original base. A 1927 photograph in the Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed shows a wooden cover on the basin; it is octagonal, slightly raised with panelled sides and a crown-like octagonal top; there is a lock that latches to a metal staple in the stone top of the basin.