Gendringen

A communication from Pol Herman (e-mail of 6 January 2022 to BSI) notes: On the website of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, I find a picture of the baptismal font of Gendringen : Baptismal font in a church at Gendringen, anonymous (Monumentenzorg) (attributed to), 1890 – 1920. The old photograph shows a monolithic vessel with a cylindrical basin decorated with a blind arcade of horseshoe arches on very short columns all around; between the arcade and what remains of the upper rim is a pair or three rope mouldings all around, though most of this area is eroded or broken off, missing; the underbowl splays into the base without interruption, the round shape transitioning into a square shape at the lower end. Stands on a modern plinth. No cover present. [NB: we have no information on the whereabouts of this font; the fact that the old photograph is in a museum does not mean the font itself is in it]. A further communication from Pol Herman adds: I am still searching for more information. In the meantime, I found that the font at Gendringen is identical to the font at Brandlecht in Germany. BUT : the human figures and the lower rim of the basin have been removed. Probably as a result of the reformation? Therefore, it is a Bentheimer font. The font at Brandlecht has been dated 1175. There is a mystery about this Gendringen font. 1.- First, nobody at Gendringen is aware of it. In the eighties, Peter Bresser, archivist of the regional archive in the heritage foundation “Erfgoedcentrum Achterhoek en Liemers” has made an inventory of the objects and a study of the archives of the Saint Martin church. He has no knowledge of such font. The gothic Maartenskerk, that had a Romanesque predecessor, was destroyed by fire on 19th of May 1830. It was in reformed hands since 1605. Only one drawing exists of this gothic church, and very little is know about it. A new church was built in 1835. In the archives of the new church, no such font is mentioned. 2.- the picture shows a pillar on the right of the font. I cannot find any church at Gendringen and in the neighbourhood that has such pillars. Also Peter Bresser cannot identify such church interior. It could be that the picture was taken in one of the village’s country houses with Empire elements ( both are converted castles) : (Zwanenburg (demolished in 1900) and Landfort (existing). There is no mention of a baptismal font related to these country houses. 3.- the basin upper rim seems to have been used for sharpening tools. If the picture has been taken inside a church, this would mean that it was retrieved from some smithy. Yet another communication from Pol Herman to BSI (e-mail of 22 February 2022 notes: "I asked further information to the Rijksmuseum about the picture of the font attributed to Gendringen. Their answer is below : the attribution to Gendringen is wrong. In the Rijkmuseum’s collection, there is a second identical picture of the font, attributed to Ermelo. After checking my documentation, I agree. The picture “Gendringen” shows the stoup of Ermelo (before its restoration)." The 'answer' referred to follows: Van: Roman Kienjet Verzonden: dinsdag 22 februari 2022 9:45 Aan: pol_herman@hotmail.be Onderwerp: Doopvont Gendringen/Ermelo Beste meneer Herman, Zoals ik kan vinden is de foto van de doopvont (inv. nr. RP-F-00-7895) onjuist toegeschreven vanwege een verwarrend opschrift op het bijbehorende opzetvel. Daar staat rechtsonder, zoals ook op de scan in Rijkstudio te zien is, ‘Gendringen (G)’. Er bevindt zich een tweede afdruk in de collectie van het RCE, die wél correct is toegeschreven: Bekijk alle beelden van: (cultureelerfgoed.nl) De doopvont komt uit de Hervormde Kerk in Ermelo. Hartelijk dank voor uw vraag, zonder waren we hier waarschijnlijk niet snel op gekomen. Met vriendelijke groet, Róman Kienjet