Late Romanesque baptismal font from St. Nicholas Church in Grudziądz – import from Gotland

Janusz Maciej Nowiński

doi:10.37190/arc230301

Abstract

The article discusses the study of the baptismal font located next to the presbytery of Saint Nicholas parish church in Grudziądz. The aim of the research conducted in 2023 was to verify current views on its centuries-old history. Our study presents the history of the object, its artistic provenance, iconography and ideological content. Based on the research, it was found that the late Romanesque baptismal bowl is an original work of Gotland provenance, dating back to the 2nd half of the 14th century. Its Gotland origin is evidenced by formal, compositional and iconographic analogies connecting its creator with the style of Gotland workshops known as the so-called Fröjel Group that was active in Gotland and southern Scandinavia around the mid-14th century. The decisive argument for the origin of the baptismal font from Gotland was the petrographic examination of its stone carried out in July 2023, which showed that it was made of Gotland limestone found in the Hoburgen deposits. This work should therefore be treated as an import from Gotland. The article also emphasizes that in order to illustrate the theological message, the creator of the baptismal font – in accordance with the tradition present in his artistic environment – used symbolic representations of animals, the iconography of which and the dramaturgy of actions involving them were taken from the medieval bestiary – Physiologus. The beasts shown on the baptismal font, exorcised by baptism, walk in a row towards Christ symbolized by a lion.

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