One of four cherubs, each representing one of the four Rivers of Paradise, on a 16th century stone baptismal font in a Breton church, L’Eglise Saint Sauveur in Le Faou, Finistère, Brittany, France. Above the cherubs are four doves, each with a streamer in their beaks, recalling a dove giving Noah an olive branch and announcing the end of the flood. Below the cherubs are writhing snakes and the font is known as the ‘cuve aux serpents’.
L’Eglise Saint Sauveur, Le Faou, Finistère, Brittany, France: 16th century baptismal font, cut from Kersanton stone, in the church of Saint Saviour. The font is sculpted on all of its four sides, except for a section of the east side which was damaged during the Revolution. On each side is a cherub's head, framed by wings and with an open mouth ready to spit water. The cherubs probably represent the four rivers of Paradise mentioned in Genesis: Gehon, Phison, Tigris, Euphrates. Above the cherubs are doves holding one end of a streamer in their beaks, recalling the dove giving Noah an olive branch and announcing the end of the flood. There are four serpents or snakes sculpted on the font. In art, a serpent can be a symbol of evil (like the one Virgin Mary crushes with her heel) or a symbol of good (like the one Moses raises in the desert). On the side of the font facing south, a lion turns its head and opens its wide mouth. This evokes the myth of the lion who wakes up his half-dead newborn lion cubs with his roars. Thus, the water of baptism saves the baptised person from the kingdom of the dead. On the west side of the font, near its drain, a deer is chased by a dog. The deer is a symbol of regeneration through baptism: as the deer’s antlers grow back rapidly after they have been shed, the baptised person abandons their old self for the new. The dog was considered an unclean animal, depicted in the Bible as one who returns to his vomit. A sculpted hand designates an inscription 'Jesus Maria Anna. Foliage and birds represent the Garden of Eden. The current church of Saint Saviour was rebuilt between 1544 and 1680 with a 17th century domed bell tower, double transept and ornately sculpted south porch. The south sacristy was rebuilt in 1877. Le Faou is the northern gateway to the Crozon Peninsula, situated on the River Aulne estuary.
Size: 7360px × 4912px
Location: L’Eglise Saint Sauveur, Church of Saint Saviour, Le Faou, Finistère, Brittany, France
Photo credit: © Terence Kerr / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
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