Abstract:
Baptism is the act of ceremonial cleansing by which a person
becomes a member of a Christian church. Although baptism could
occur anywhere, the special place for baptism, either a freestanding
building or smaller font, is a significant element of every communal
church. Therefore, the baptistery or baptismal font has become an
ordinary piece of furniture in many Christian churches practicing
non-immersive methods, such as sprinkling or pouring of water.
The simplest of these fonts have a stone, metal, or wooden pedestal,
with a holder that could accommodate different shapes of water
basins.
Despite their smaller size, baptismal fonts often intermingle with
prevailing architectural characters of an urban landscape. For
instance, the signs and symbols prevalent in the baptismal fonts of
most Anglican churches in Colombo mostly follow Gothic Revival
architectural precedents. The relevant modern historiographical
sources on the 19th and 20th-century urban architecture in Sri
Lanka reveal that no systematic study on this significant aspect of
church architecture has been conducted so far.
Therefore, the main objective of this technical report was to record
and analyze the chronological development of architectural
characters as well as the current condition and state of preservation
of 19th and 20th century Baptismal Fonts in urban churches in
Colombo and its suburbs. Under this documentation project, the
decorations and motives from the most representative Christian
churches from different religious denominations have been
systematically recorded as per their chronological development.
Architectural measured drawings and graphical data were
documented in parallel to understand the integration of the
prevailing architectural character of buildings. Further, this
documentation can be extended as a record for posterity and a
primary tool for conservation and restoration. It can be used to
communicate the architectural significance and heritage of surviving
baptismal fonts not only to design and conservation professionals
but to the public at large.
