Saintes in Tubize No. 1 / Sint-Renelde / Sinternele

Baptismal font originally from the parish church of Saintes, now in the Musées Royaux d'Art et d'Histoire, listed and illustrated in BALaT KIK-IRPA [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/11030684] [accessed 16 April 2024]: "Fonts baptismaux provenant de l'église Sainte Renilde à Saintes [...] granit [...] hauteur: 44 cm, largeur: 82 cm [...] Date: 1301 - 1400 [...] Catalogue d'exposition, Bruxelles[1964] : n° 200". A communication to BSI from Pol Herman (e-mail 13 January 2024) notes: "Two baptismal fonts of the church are known [https://balat.kikirpa.be/object/11030684] [of which one is now] in the Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire at Brussels. This restored font has a Mosan Renaissance base that is typical for the period 1500-1525. The 4 lions at the corners, along with the gothic arches on the sides of the column, can (only) be found on the fonts of: Weert (lions have been chopped off during the iconoclastic fury), installed probably around 1512; Marche-en-Famenne, probably around 1520; Fallais, probably after 1509; Glons. The upper halve of the column and the basin are made in a 16th century Hainaut-style. -- My hypothesis (no proof at all) : the rich pilgrimage church of Saintes (devotion of Saint Renelde) bought an expensive Mosan font roughly between 1500 and 1525. It was damaged during the iconoclastic fury around 1566. It would seem logical that the rioters attacked the richly decorated basin, with its heads and maybe its coats of arms. It was repaired (re-cut) by a local stone mason, in the local Hainaut-style."