The Baptistere of St. Louis; Hidden History

As of now The Baptistere of St. Louis sits quietly at the Louvre in Paris. But it wasn't always such. From what we know, before it reached the Louvre, it was used by royalty,“ It concluded its dynastic and ecclesiastical history when it was used for the baptism of Prince Napoleon-Eugene in i856; it was by then a national treasure to which, sometime after I79I, two silver plaques bearing the arms of France had been affixed.”(Ettinghausen 246) Though it early history isn’t fully known, the extravagant engravings all around the basin help us understand and learn a little more about its original intent. The basin is inlaid with silver and gold and extremely detailed. D.S. Rice mentions the appearance of The Baptistere of St.Louis in his paper, “The Blazons of the “Baptistẻre de Saint Louis”, “Almost the whole surface of the vessel, both outside and inside, is engraved with court-scenes, battles and hunting expeditions set out in harmoniously composed panels and medallions, framed by narrower friezes of beasts of the chase, and enriched with delicately chased silver inlay and gold leaf, in such manner as to allow the bronze to appear only in narrow contours, brought into relief by the use of a black bituminous”(Rice 366). With all the beautiful designs on the basin it's easy to see why it was kept and used by France’s royalty.

Although the beginning history of The Baptistere of St. Louis seemed to be lost in time, there are small details that help us know where it was made and what its purpose was. If you look at the bottom of the basin(Fig. 1) you see what Rice identified as a Nilotic character in the center of a

crocodile surrounded by “an elaborately arranged pattern of fish” (Ettinghausen 247). Its because of that we are able to say it came from Egypt. Another reason for the aquatic scenery could come from the literal use of the basin, a container for water/liquids. Another focus for historians, something they have argued, is the identity of the human figures. Here Rice uses the clothing, facial features and picture from that time find who the figures represent. Ettinghausen explains the exact details rice uses for,“The basis for this identification was the coat of arms on the amir's gaiters, his beard,

(FIG 1)

and peculiar garments, which are said to tally with Salar's sartorial idiosyncrasies as described in contemporary literature” (Ettinghausen 247). By knowing who is being depicted in this artwork we are able to get a closer guess to when it was created.

The Baptistere of St. Louis was created by Mamluk artisan, Muhammed Ibn al Zain, around 1320 C.E. The majority of mamluks were a group of slaves who controlled many Muslim states and established a dynasty that ruled Egypt and syria from 1250 until the ottomans took over 1517.  During the Mamluck rule, Many religions had numerous works of art in order to spread Islamic culture, but unlike other mamluk artisans, Mohammed

Ibn al Zain was a highly paid professional artisan, Because of all the thought and detail put into the Baptistere of Saint Louis. Despite its name, the Baptistery of St. Louis had nothing to do with, “Louis XI of France, who died well before it was made, and its first century.”(Art and Architecture of Islam 1250-1800).The Baptistere is know as an object used to baptize the children of the royal family in France, but originated from the areas of egypt and syria. made of brass

(FIG2)
with silver, gold and black. In past findings, pieces such as these have been known to typically have large inscriptions: interestingly this one does not, instead it it is highly decorated with patterns and figural and animal imagery. Richard Ettinghausen, a historian on Islamic art, theorizes that there could have been an inscription on the basin but with the addition of the plaques with the arms of France, such inscription could have been lost. Although there are other theories that say the lack of inscriptions could be because it was commissioned by a non Muslim leader of maybe to be traded. Consequently the only writing on the basin is the repeated signature of the artist saying “work of the master ,Muhhamed  Ibn al Zain”(Fig.2). The bottom inches from the wall inside it are the only spot in which no details are found just the bronze color

The Baptistere of St. Louis many scenes. On the inside of it there seems to be to rulers facing one another. One was a face and the other does not(Fig3). The reason for this is un know. Because they are exactly facing one another it could be said that the figure without the face is a just

reflection or the king in front of him. However the scenery that surround it could suggest another thing. As analyzed by Dr.Steven Zucker, and Dr.Beth Harris from Khan Academy,”There are two rulers. They sit frontally. They both hold goblets. The figures in between seem to be hunting but also scenes of battle. We see limbs and we see a decapitated head so there's violence here”, this scene in the eyes of D. S. Rice depicts a battle for the throne(fig4) “The occasion itself seems to have some connection

(FIG 3)

with the hunt, since not only the servitors are shown with various hunting animals and captured prey, but because, also, one of the amirs carries a doe or fawn. This situation might explain how the amirs could "approach the presence of the Sultan" fully armed, while on more formal indoor occasions ''armor as well as swords had to be left in the ante-rooms before one appeared in the presence of the Sultan, a very necessary pre- caution, as many events have shown."That the aspects of a combined throne-and-hunting scene are possible in the repertory of inlaid metalwork has only recently

(FIG 4)
been shown by Rice in the case of the ewer by Ibrahim ibn Mawaliya in the Musee du Louvre 8 and this is probably also intended here.”(Ettinghausen 248).

An important thing to also consider when looking at this basin, any art work for that matter, is to pay attention to every detail of the work because it is all done on purpose therefore it is important. Looking back again at the basin near the bottom you can see Fleur-de-li, “Beth: On the very bottom band, there are small roundels that carry Fleur-de-lis. The Fleur-de-lis is the symbol of the royal family of France. Interestingly, it was also associated with a Mamluk Sultan. Art historians think these may have been reworked when they came to France. There are other alterations that make us think that the person who commissioned this was not the person who it was ultimately delivered to.” Though this was at first glance seen as a small detail its value to the piece is huge. That's why The Baptistere of St. Louis still remains such a mystery. The amount of small details intertwined with big figures is what has made this work of art so difficult to decipher and so interesting to see.

Interpretations for The Baptistère de Saint Louis are many and without information on the reason it was created it's hard to rule any out. To truly study and try to interpret the Baptistère de Saint Louis you would need a number of days go locate and find the importance of the animals,people and plants that find in the curves and edges of the basin.The fact of the matter is this exquisite work of metal will always remain a mystery to us, but that is no reason we can't continue to hypotheses and analyze this encapsulated piece of history.

Group 9, Stephanie Garcia & Diana Gonzalez, total word count:1513

Works Cited

“Basin (Baptistère De Saint Louis).” Performance by Steven Zucker, and Beth Harris, Khan Academy, Khan Academy, www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/west-and-central-asia/v/ibn-al-zain-basin.

Blair, Sheila, and Jonathan M. Bloom. The Art and Architechture of Islam 1250-1800. Yale University Press, 1995

Collectif. Album Islamic Art at the Mus e Du Louvre. Hazan , 2012

D, S R. "The Blazons of the "baptistère De Saint Louis"." Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 13.2 (1950): 367-380. Print.

Ettinghausen, Richard. "Book Review: Le Baptistère De St. Louis." Ars Orientalis. 1 (1954): 245-249. Print.