Rodene No. 1 / Rödene / Rödened / Rödhene / Rödinge / Alingsas / Alingsås

Noted and illustrated by Hanna Rydh in Roosval (1917) as the basin of a medieval baptismal font at the SHM, one of two fonts originally from Rödene, Västergötland, and later at the museum. Rydh (ibid.) records a stone basin of square shape showing much erosion and damage, and names a number of items in the decorative programme of the font; an aspis and a human figure; an Agnus Dei with cross; a cross with animal and human figure(s) next to it; the Fall of Man including Adam and Eve by the Tree of Science: Adam puts his hand to his mouth as Eve, her hair in long braids, extends the apple to him [is this the same scene in which a leaning human-like figure but rabbit (?) head has a large erect penis and leans over towards another figure caught (?) in a twist of snakes?]; the carving is crude but comes across strong and intriguing. Noted and illustrated in the SHM’s database Medeltidens bildvärld [ref.: 950512F5] as a "Bolumgruppen" font in the Statens Historika Museum originally from Alingsås; the material is identified as sandstone and the date as the mid-12th century. There is no base. The http://wadbring.com/historia/undersidor/rodene.htm site [accessed 31 January 2016] reports that the church here burned down in 1834, and all that survived was a small bell now at the Alingsås museum, and a baptismal font adorned with a dragon, etc., dating to the 12th century; this font is said to have been for a time in a cave of the Nolhaga hill near Alingsås, and was taken to the SHM in Stockholm in the 1870s; in 1921 there was a request to have it returned to Rödene församling but it was refused by the SHM [="Det enda som stod att rädda då den brann var en liten klocka som nu förvaras på Alingsås museum samt en dopfunt smyckad med bl.a. en drake, daterad till mitten av 1100-talet. Denna dopfunt stod därefter under en längre tid i en grotta i Nolhaga berg i Alingsås där den samlade upp det vatten som sprang fram ur stenväggen. Sedan mitten av 1870-talet finns den på Statens historiska museum i Stockholm - som nekade att lämna tillbaka den till Rödene församling efter en förfrågan 1921"]. The font in use now at Alingsås kyrka is modern and made of metal; it was designed by Helge Zimdal and Nils Ahrbom.