Baptismal font with lid

West Bohemia, after 1700

Wood, carving with acanthus leaves and grapes, surface decorated with polychrome and gilding. Original fittings partially preserved.

H: 123 cm / W: 69 cm

UMP 25342

The baptismal font comes from the church of St. Bartholomew in the village of Pístov near Chodová Planá. It is already documented in the publication Topographie der Historischen und Kunstgeschichtlichen Denkmale in den Bezirken Tepl und Marienbad from 1932. The lid included a wooden polychrome sculpture of the Baptism of the Lord (H: 27 cm) with a kneeling Jesus Christ and a standing figure of John the Baptist on a rock.

The current state of the object is the result of its moving history, which began at the end of the millennium. In 2000, it was stolen from the church and then appeared on the art market abroad. The journey back to the country was difficult and was successful thanks to the initiatives of the National Heritage Institute, the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic, and above all a private collector. However, the sculpture of the baptism from the lid is probably irretrievably lost.

The baptismal font is a cultural monument of the Czech Republic.

Photo from the original location in the temple in Pístov.

(Source: NHI/NPÚ)