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Antique Early Twentieth Century French Faience Holy Water Font

About the Item

An antique French holy water font stoop dating from the early 20th century. It has been manufactured from glazed cream pottery and features a winged cherub. The bottom has a deep water reservoir. The top section has openings for attaching a wall hanging cord or wire. In France, small holy water stoups were commonly used in chapels, monasteries and in the home. Consecrated water was acquired from a priest and as in entrances of Catholic churches still today, people dip their fingers in a stoup to trace the sign of the cross with holy water on the forehead as a blessing or to ward off evil. In the Renaissance period sometimes private homes, if they were very grand, had private chapels with everything necessary for liturgical services including holy water stops, while others had small domestic altars. These could be for use by the whole family or for one individual or couple when they would probably be in the bedroom. Many small holy water stoups survive from the 16th century onwards. This relatively late example from the 1900’s is decorated with a winged cherub, scrolling and hand painted florals. Possibly it was hoped that the use of a devotional object with this particular subject in a bedroom by a woman, would have the effect of encouraging the conception of a child, more particularly of a son. Traditionally the Catholic religion was a constant presence in French homes, with icons and images of the Holy Family represented on various media to instil a love of God and encourage all, particularly impressionable young children, towards a pious life. The technique of making tin-glazed pottery was acquired from Islamic potters in the fifteenth century and in France the production of majolica ,as it was called, flourished in many areas where there was a good supply of local clays.

Dimensions:

Height: 10.25 in (26.04 cm)Width: 5.75 in (14.61 cm)Depth: 2 in (5.08 cm)

Style:

French Provincial (In the Style Of)

Materials and Techniques:

Faience,Paint,Hand-Crafted,Hand-Painted

Place of Origin:

France

Period:

Early 20th Century

Date of Manufacture:

1920’s