The Tournai Marble Baptismal Font of Lincoln Cathedral

Author: King, James F.

Source: Journal of the British Archaeological Association, Volume 155, 2002 , pp. 1-21(21)

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Abstract:

The baptismal font at Lincoln Cathedral has long been recognised as one of a series of eight decorated Tournai marble fonts to survive in England. The fonts, which are of 12th-century Flemish craftsmanship, have generally been discussed in the context of the baptismal font at Winchester Cathedral. Little, however, has been written about the Lincoln font in its own right. It is now often assumed that it was commissioned by Bishop Alexander before his death in 1148, but a fresh examination of the current evidence suggests that the font is more likely to have been carved in the 1150s during the episcopate of Robert de Chesney, at the same time as the baptismal font at Thornton Curtis (Lincs.). The carving on these two fonts relates them to a small group of fonts found in Belgium and northern France and to carved work still in situ in the transepts of Tournai Cathedral in Belgium.

Document Type: Research Article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1179/006812802790431054

Publication date: 2002-01-01

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