LATE 17TH CENTURY

Details

AN ENGLISH CARVED MARBLE FONT
LATE 17TH CENTURY
The octagonal basin decorated with four cherub heads above a conforming baluster stem with acanthus decoration; on a spreading octagonal foot and associated stone base; minor chips and damages; the socle replaced
48½ in. (123.2 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE
J. C. Cox, English Church Fittings, Furniture and Accessories, Batsford, 1923, fig. 83.
G. Cobb, The Old Churches of London, Batsford, 1942, pl. LIV.

Special notice

This lot is offered without reserve. No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

Stylistically, this baptismal font relates very closely to a number of other examples found in Wren churches in the City of London. The basin, for example, relates very closely to another in St. James Garlickhythe, near Mansion House, which is decorated with four similar putti masks with crossed wings beneath (see Cox, loc. cit.). The shaft, decorated with acanthus leaves to the baluster and sitting on a spreading octagonal base, is perhaps closest to one in St. Stephen Walbrook, near Cannon Street (see Cobb, loc. cit.).

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