Dome-shaped font cover divided into eight compartments by moulded ribs which radiate from a knop at the apex to the octagonal base

Dome-shaped font cover divided into eight compartments by moulded ribs which radiate from a knop at the apex to the octagonal base. The quatrefoil knop - with holes, probably for the fixing of a chain - has two lion's masks and two cherubs' heads, with a pierced octagonal upper tier, and appears to represent a quatrefoil renaissance fountain, with the 'water' surface represented by irregular cuts in the wood, though Bond p.29 illustrates a drawing after a medieval infant baptism showing a large quatrefoil font.

Construction
Each panel is formed of two planks, glue-joined, the elements probably all cut from a single long plank (about 250cm long). The curve has been achieved by cutting away from a thicker plank (about 6-8cm). The lower rail is tenoned together. Each curved rib (with grooves to receive the panels) is symmetrically moulded with a ogee moulding.

The eight triangular panels contain the following scenes:
1 Female saint representing St Catherine of Siena. She holds a heart in her left hand and holds a crucifix in her right (though without visible rays) in an image that is reminiscent of those of St Francis of Assisi. Like him St Catherine received the pain of the stigmata although not the physical injury.
2 An angel and a woman at an ornate renaissance fountain, representing the angel troubling the water of the Pool of Bethesda (John chap. 5 v.4)
3 Christ and the woman of Samaria, John iv. 1-26
4 Christ meets Nicodemus the Pharisee at night, John iii.1-5ff (No one can enter the kingdom of God without being born from water and spirit. v.5)
5 St Philip Baptising the Eunuch Acts viii, 26-40 (culminates in baptism of the eunuch)
6 Man with distinctive hat, in ‘kilt’ and cloak, with sword, making a shape with his hands. The costume may be representative of a Roman soldier's garb. In Luke 3, 7-14 (a narrative largely concerned with baptism), when tax collectors and soldiers came forward to be baptised we read that "Soldiers also asked him, "And we, what shall we do?". And he said to them, "Rob no one by violence or by false accusation, and be content with your wages."
7 Christ asking the Chief Priests and Scribes concerning the Baptism of John Matthew xxi, 25
8 Man in distinctive hat and cloak holding a scroll. He could be representative of God's voice - "This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 4, 17) - at the time of Our Lord's baptism.
One charming detail is the rendering of the knop of the cover (a structural necessity) as a quatrefoil fountain with a stylised water surface, taking up the theme of water inherent in the function of a font.

In the V&A Peyre papers, this font cover is listed in the typed Inventory of the contents ..., as no. 157 valued at £200 and listed in room D on the plan, being the small room at the back of the house, overlooking the garden.

An attribution to Normandy (Rouen school) can be made on the basis of similarities in style and handling of the drapery, the hair and the refined arabesques composed of fleshy lobes and stems with a coffer. See Laurence Fligny, Le Mobilier en Picardie. (Picardie, 1990). (Musee de Rouen, illustrated in Thirion, Le Mobilier du Moyen Age et de la Renaissance en France, 1998, p.77), dressoir (Musee des Arts Decoratifs, illustrated in Boccador, Le mobilier francais du Moyen Age a la Renaissance, 1988, ill.57) and panels showing Judith with the head of Holofernes (Musee de Louviers). Another, similar font cover survives in the church of Saint-Riquier, Somme. The sources for the panels might be found in the illustrations in contemporary French books of hours.

The font cover would have come from a Catholic church (as yet unidentified). Unlike England where the state left the Catholic church, France did not experience widespread iconoclasm or spoliation of ecclesiastical property, although in certain areas such as the south of France, some churches were totally destroyed. After Henri IV became king, Protestants were tolerated when but were never dominant. After 1685 (and the révocation de l'Edit de Nantes), no protestant cult was allowed anymore. During the 16th century French protestants had developed their own whitewashed temples, and there were some trends towards greater simplicity during the 1530's when Erasmian, or reformist positions were tolerated, but after the rise of Calvinism and particularly after the Council of Trent richly decorated liturgical paraphenalia was the norm.

The presence on this font of St Catherine of Siena among the carved panels may represent the church for which the cover was commissioned. The cult of St Catheine was particularly popular in (and around) Rouen, and a related ceremony took place in the place du Marché aux veaux (later Place de la Pucelle, Rouen). A monastic church of the Trinity-St Catherine between Rouen and Bonsecours was destroyed in 1598, but a monastic church would not have had a baptismal font (pers. comm. from Marie Pessiot (Musee des Beaux Arts, Rouen), 19/7/2007. St Catherine amulets may have come from the monstery. A parish church on the hill of St Catherine (Mont-Gargan, near Blosseville?) exists, and further research may support a link to the font cover.

The use of font-covers long post-dates the use of fonts in Christian liturgy. In England during the 13th century fonts were ordered to be kept locked in order to prevent hallowed water being used for black magic. Covers, either fixed or moveable were usually of oak (though bronze covers are recorded in Germany and the Netherlands.) A font cloth is sometimes recorded as an ornament and protection for the cover. Bond suggests that most covers were richly painted and gilded, sometimes with sculpted or painted figures. The heavy weight of covers led to the use of winch or counterpoise systems by which they could be easily raised, and this cover appears to have had such a fixing, probably a chain. The octagonal shape of this font-cover derives of course from the shape of the font for which it was made. Although fonts (usually of stone, hollowed from a single block) were made circular, square, or with five, six and seven sides, the octagonal form is most common in England. Various symbolic explanations have been suggested for the octagonal form of fonts and baptistery buildings (Bond, pp. 57-9): that they embody the fact that Christ rose from the grave 8 days after the crucifixion; that since the old world and Old Man were created in 7 days, the new world of grace and regeneration must have been created on the 8th day; the octagonal form often used for bathrooms in Ancient Rome. Bond suggests however that the octagonal form was popular because it is easier to draw (and make accurately) than other polygons, and accommodates itself more easily to a circular basin.

See also: Ann Eljenhom Nichols, Seeable Signs: the Iconography of the Seven Sacraments 1350-1544, Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 1994)

Normandy (possibly Rouen).

Fonts were an important element in churches, holding the blessed water used for the Christian sacrament of baptism. They could be made of stone or lead. Early fonts did not have such elaborate covers. In England during the 13th century fonts were ordered to be kept locked in order to prevent hallowed water being used for black magic and had tight-fitting lids. The octagonal shape of this font-cover derives of course from the shape of the font (unidentified) for which it was made. Various symbolic explanations have been suggested for the octagonal form popular for fonts but it may simply derive from the fact that the shape is easier to draw (and make accurately) than other polygons, and accommodates itself more easily to a circular basin.

This font cover incorporates various carved panels showing Biblical scenes associated with baptism including the angel troubling the water of the Pool of Bethesda (John chap. 5 v. 4) and Christ and the woman of Samaria meeting at the well (John iv. 1-26), while the knop at the top of the cover (a structural necessity) is in the shape of a renaissance style fountain with a stylised water surface, taking up the theme of water inherent in the function of a font.

723-1895