Baptistere of St. Louis 

by Anthony Chang and Alejandra Chavez

Currently found in the Louvre, the world's largest art museum and a historic monument in Paris, France. The Baptistere of St. Louis was created by Mamluk artisan Mohammed Ibn Al-Zain around 1320 C.E. The basin originated from Egypt or Syria (still unknown), which is a highly decorated piece formulated by the Mamluks. It has been debated if its true intentions were for washing hands, a craft commissioned by a Islamic royal. The other ideal is that it was originally created for the French Royal family, named after Christian King Saint Louis, who was a ruler in the 1200’s. Its purpose with the French family served as a tool for baptizing royal children.  

Unbeknownst to the public, Saint Louis had an influential role within Egypt. Saint Louis led Crusades to the Holy Land, ending in catastrophe. Known as the Seventh Crusade, in December 1244, Saint Louis decided to take up the cross and go to free the Holy Land. At that time, Jerusalem had fallen into Muslim hands on August 23, 1244, and the armies of the sultan of Egypt had seized Damascus. Louis’s objective was to land in Egypt, seize the principal towns of the country, and use them as hostages to be exchanged for Syrian cities. The Egyptians harassed the fleeing army and finally captured it on April 7, 1250. After long negotiations, the king and his principal barons were freed for a high ransom (Archnet). The Crusaders would have preferred to return to France, but the king decided instead to remain. Due to the interference among Egypt, this was the first sign of meeting which further lead to the Mamluks’ relationship with the French. Mamluks, a slave soldier, were members of one of the armies of slaves that won political control of several Muslim states during the Middle Ages. Under the Ayyūbid sultanate, Mamluk generals used their power to establish a dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517. Nevertheless, they were recognized as highly skilled artists, praised for textiles and metal work.

The basin received its name in the 18th century and was so called because it was used as the baptismal purpose for the royal children, including Louis XIII. It is unknown whether the person who first commissioned the basin was Islamic due to the Fleur-de-lis. The symbol was often correlated to French Royalty, in the twelfth century King Louis VII became the first French monarch to use the fleur-de-lis on his shield. English kings later used the symbol on their coats of arms to emphasize their claims to the throne of France. In the 14th century, the fleur-de-lis was often incorporated into the family insignia that was sewn on the knight's surcoat. The basin was not given its current name until the object was brought back to France by Louis IX, but when he died in 1270 the basin did not exist yet. In 1856, the basin comes out of the Louvre and served a final time for the baptism, at Notre Dame de Paris, of the imperial prince Napoleon Eugene, son of Napoleon III. Eight blazons punctuate the animal friezes bordering the external composition. There are lily flowers that have been added after completion of the decoration. They cover underlying coats of arms: a creeping lion, originally perhaps inlaid with gold on a red copper background. This piece of furniture alternates with a second in the shape of a "key" which was also encrusted with gold. The rampant lion evokes the coat of arms of the Lusignan family in Cyprus, which possessed metals produced in Mamluk lands: a basin in the name of Hugues IV and a plateau are both preserved in the Louvre (The Louvre).

Ibn al-Zain’s basin exploits animals, figures, and decorative painting to enhance the visual aesthetics. However, there are some Arabic inscriptions just beneath the rim, all six of the inscriptions are Ibn Al-Zain’s signatures. Having signed it six times, he must have been extremely proud of this particular work. The basin is either from Syria or Egypt, made around the mid 12th century by Mamluks. It’s dimensions are 22.2 by 50.2 cm and the basin is mainly made up of brass, inlaid with silver and gold. In addition, black paste is used to give the basin more depth and adds a shading aspect to the basin.

Baptistère de Saint Louis helps us interpret the work because it informs us that it was a baptistry for Saint Louis. The dominant shape was spherical, and its bottom was flat so that it could stand on its own. The sole purpose was to hold holy water for the French royal family and it’s horizontal orientation allowed this particular basin to be very functional, the wide mouth of the basin allowed for easy access to the water. The metals used to make the basin gave it its colors, its dominant colors were mainly brass and silver, with some gold infused with it (Khan Academy).

Inside of the basin, the textures seem to be smooth but with the art being three dimensional. At the bottom we see very abstract patterns of sea eels. They are very complex and interconnected designs. The bottom few inches of the inner wall is the only part of the basin that has no designs. There is a small continuous band of animals that align the inner rim of the basin almost as if they are parading around it, giving it a very integrated feel to the art. And above that we can see a large wide frieze of men on horseback that is interconnected with animals and medallions. Along the band there are two figures that resemble rulers, or people with great power. The two rulers sit across from one another, and they both hold goblets. The rulers seem disconnected with the other figures, but the figures around them enhance the work by showing how important these people are. These figures seem to be hunting and battling, images along this frieze are very graphic and brutal, with loose limbs, decapitated heads, and more violence throughout the image.

The iconography of the basin is vast, around the rim there are unicorns, elephants, leopards, camels, and an antelope. What caught our eyes was the complexity of the work and how all of these animals seem to be moving with great energy. Moving to the outside of the basin, we can see the largest frieze. We are able to see four large figures in roundels standing out, each one is on horseback but doing slightly different actions. Two of the figures are hunting, one is drawing a bow, and the last one seems to be thinking or planning, with a club in his hand. The beautiful thing about this work is how all aspects in each frieze is interconnected and have meaning within the bigger image. We can see four to five figures on both sides of the roundels, looking towards the royal figure. These figures seem to be doing all types of things; one figure is holding a leash with a leopard attached to it and another is raising a goblet. These scenes are so complex and dense that it takes time and dedication to understand the interwoven nature of these images. These designs are all around the basin giving a different perspective in every angle you look at it. And on the very bottom band of the basin there are roundels with fleur de lis (Spade) inside of them, this is the symbol of the royal family of France.

There is a specific focal point on the ideal of power and royalty. The soldiers around the basin with various figures that represent royalty or the court. In Mamluk history, it important to note that they were known as “the one who is owned” which later indicated their rise from lower level to royal status. The name is derived from an Arabic word for slave (Lecture 10.17.17). Unlike other groups in which your rank from birth could not be altered, there ws a method for the mamluks to escape the same plight. They were also individuals who were good at warfare, which relates to the various limbs and weapons scattered throughout the basin. This correlates to how one rose from the bottom, power was a necessity for Mamluk supremacy.  

In many instances, Islamic art is looked over, and not seen as an influential part of worldwide culture. However, through the Baptistery of Saint Louis, we can see the integration of Mamluk craftsmanship into a Christian European tradition. Deemed as so important, it was kept as an item of viewing inside the Louvre. The significance of a Mamluk created basin used for the Baptism of royal children seems absurd. For a basin with the intention of serving as a Muslim based water holder to be integrated within Christianity empowers the message of integration of cultures. Culture shapes an identity and influences future behaviors, and cultural diversity makes it easier to accept, and even to some extent, integrate and assimilate with other cultures.

Word Count: 1509

Work Cited

“Basin (Baptistère de Saint Louis).” Khan Academy,             

   www.khanacademy.org/humanities/ap-art-history/west-and-central-asia/v/ibn-al-zain basin.

Folda, Jaroslav. Crusader art in the Holy Land: from the Third Crusade to the fall of Acre.

    Cambridge University Press, 2005.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Baptistère de Saint Louis.” Encyclopædia               

      Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, inc., 10 July 2015,

      www.britannica.com/topic/Baptistere-de-Saint-Louis.

“World Art.” Annenberg Learner, www.learner.org/courses/globalart/work/65/index.html.