1740Blessing from above – the baptismal angel

The artist of this wooden, painted, Baroque baptismal angel from around 1740 is unfortunately unknown, but its almost flawless state of preservation is, according to experts, “extremely rare.” These baptismal angels were common in the 17th and 18th centuries in Germany, as well as in Denmark and Sweden, particularly in Lutheran churches. While there were standing or kneeling baptismal angels that carried a font on their heads or held it aloft, some were suspended from the ceiling, holding a bowl of baptismal water in their hands.

This unusual placement of the baptismal angels, which are categorized as “acting sculptures,” was often due to a lack of space in churches where, for various reasons, there was no room for a traditional baptismal font. Consequently, the angel was banished to the choir ceiling, from where it was lowered by a pulley system during the actual baptismal ceremony.

In the 19th century, baptismal angels gradually fell out of fashion. In Alsfeld’s Walpurgis Church, where a floor-standing font and a suspended baptismal angel had existed side by side, the Baroque angel was eventually removed from the church. Fortunately, it found its way into our museum and can thus be displayed and shown here. (MNic)