Nienburg No. 4

The Museum notes for this font inform: "Designation and origin: Probably Wölpe. Erichshagen-Wölpe is a district of the town of Nienburg/Weser in Lower Saxony. The coats of arms depicted probably refer to Claus von Rottorp (+1559) and Armgard von dem Bussche (+1582) in Hülsede (district of Schaumburg). Claus von Rottorp was drost and pledge holder in Wölpe, albeit with interruptions due to his feuds. It is therefore conceivable that the baptismal font comes from the Wölpe castle chapel or that it was donated to the church in Holtorf, where Wölpe was a parish at the time.
Location today: Museum Nienburg/Weser, Lapidarium, Leinstraße 4, D-31582 Nienburg. Date: Probably 1550-1559. A large piece of the upper edge of the basin has broken off. This has disturbed the year and the coat of arms immediately to the right. Material, physical description, drainage, condition: Stone; sandstone. Where present, the shaft and dome of the octagonal font are made from one stone. The cylindrical shaft stump contains no ornamentation. The dome widens with a slight curve and then rises vertically upwards. The rim of the bowl is simple and unadorned. The bowl recess is carved as a deep hemisphere. It rests on an eight-sided foot. On one of the eight sides of the bowl wall, the date is raised in a recessed field, on the other sides are coats of arms: to the right of the date is the coat of arms of the von Rottorp family (three crested wheels), which are only partially recognisable. Then the coat of arms of the von dem Bussche family (three ploughshares). The two coats of arms are leaning
against each other. The remaining five shields are empty. A large piece of the upper edge of the basin has been broken off and replaced during
restoration. As a result, the date and the coat of arms immediately to the right have been disturbed. The baptismal font is not set. There is no opening for draining the basin. The cupola is mounted on a new octagonal concrete base. The excavation at the upper edge was completed with restoration mortar ‘RS Steinmasse’ from Schmalstieg GmbH, Schulze-Delitzsch-Straße 19, D-30938 Burgwedel. No lid [...] Inscriptions:
1[5..] The third digit is probably also a 5; of the last digit only the lower end of the arch is preserved, it could most likely be a 0, 3, 6 or 8. Bibiliography: Adamek, Marco, Erfassung der Sandsteinobjekte im Lapidarium, S. 10 (Inventar
Museum Nienburg), Nienburg, 2000. Korff, Bettina, Dokumentation der historischen Recherche zu den Sandsteinobjekten
des Lapidariums im Museum Nienburg, Nienburg, 2002. Aye, Gisela und Kronenberg, Axel Chr., Taufbecken und Taufengel in Niedersachsen.
Vom Ende des Dreißigjährigen Krieges bis zur Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts. S. 171,172, Hannover, 2006. Kagerer, Katharina, Die Inschriften des Landkreises Nienburg/Weser. S 171/172 Reihe: Die Deutschen Inschriften Band: 114. Göttingen, 2023."