Baptistère de Saint Louis
The Baptistère de Saint Louis is an object of Islamic art, made of hammered brass, and inlaid with silver, gold, and niello. It was produced in the Syro-Egyptian zone, under the Mamluk dynasty by the coppersmith Muhammad ibn al-Zayn. This object is now in the Islamic Arts department of the Louvre under inventory number LP 16. Despite its common name, it has no connection with the King of France Louis IX, known as Saint Louis (1226–1270). It was used as a baptismal font for future French Kings, making it an important Islamic and French historical object.
| The Baptistère de Saint Louis | |
|---|---|
| Artist | Muhammad ibn al-Zayn |
| Year | 1320–1340 |
| Medium | Hammering, engraving, inlay in brass, gold, and silver |
| Dimensions | 50.2 cm x 22.2 cm |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
| Accession | LP 16 |
The origins and original purpose of the basin are not fully known, since the first record of the object was in a French church inventory. It was possibly used as a ritual washing bowl at the Mamluk court or it could have been commissioned by a Christian patron.
The Baptistère de Saint Louis has a complicated visual program on the interior and exterior, depicting a number of different groups of people, a wide variety of animals, fish, plants, and Arabic inscriptions. The basin was made through an engraving and hammering process using precious and high quality metal. Due to the ambiguous history of the basin, the meaning of the iconography, the exact date and location of its creation, and sponsorship is still being debated by scholars.