Oostmalle No. 1

The fragment of a medieval baptismal font dug up in the parish church of Oostmalle is documented in De Molder (1936), who states that the stone of this font, as well as that of Tielen, is Tournai limestone, and are both from the same workshop; they are not of the same category as the font at Zedelgem and other such fine Tournai examples; in shape it is closer to the fonts at Ramskapelle, Baslenaeken, etc. De Molder (ibid.) notes that only the badly damaged original basin of the Oostmalle has survived, and that there was no plan to have it restored at the time; he further notes that the remaining fragment was discovered when the walls of the transepts were demolished to allow for enlarging the church building; they were encapsulated in the brick boxes that formed the base of two side altars; after the demolition of the altars, in the midst of the rubble lay a shattered basin with protruding heads. The baptismal font was probably in use until 1628, when Peter de Roover supplied a new font for the price of 22 guilders (including brass lid), a font that has also disappeared. De Molder (ibid.) describes the fragment and gives the measurements: the basin is round, with 4 heads; it was meant to stand on a central shaft and four outer colonnettes; external diameter: 70 cm; basin height: 40 cm; depth: 37 cm. De Molder describes the decoration on the basin sides as a winged owl or a devil's head, one oak leaf and a few more monstruous images ["het beeld van een gevleugelden uil of duivelskop, een eikenblad en nog een paar monsterachtige afbeeldingen"], which, again, he reckons are of lower quality than those that are decorated with lives of saints and such, like for example the font at Zedelgem." There is a ca.1920-1940 photograph by Paul Van Hal [FOTO 00994-01] of this object in the Stadsarchief Turnhout [Romaanse doopvont - kempenserfgoed.be.pdf] [accessed 31 March 2024] No mention of a font found in the entry for this church in BALaT KIK-IRPA. A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail of 26 November 2023) provided the link to De Molder's article above, and adds: "The present whereabouts of the font is unknown. It has never been seen by anyone that I contacted."