Zacatelco: the carved baptismal font

In a previous post we looked at the church of Santa Inés Zacatelco and its beautiful gilded main altarpiece. Here we draw attention to the carved stone baptismal font—a remnant from the original 16th century Franciscan mission here.

Like many other early Franciscan fonts the monolithic basin is carved with stylized reliefs of bleeding Wounds, except that in this instance there are only three in each frame instead of the five that are customary—references to the Five Wounds of Christ and the Stigmatization of St Francis.

  

Other examples of early stone carving at Zacatelco are the figure of patron St. Agnes in the facade, the keystone relief of The Archangel Michael above the west entry, and this statue of a crowned female figure in a niche beside the church.

text and images © 2019 Richard D. Perry
Other Tlaxcalan baptismal fonts