page_title: Baptistère de Saint Louis
section_title: Inscriptions
hierarchical_section_title: Baptistère de Saint Louis / Description / Inscriptions
caption_attribution_description: Français&#160;: [[Category:Artworks with known accession number|LP26 ]] ArtistMohammed ibn al-ZaynTitleBaptistère de saint LouisDatebetween circa 1320 and circa 1340Mediumhammered brass; engraved decoration, gold, silver and nielloDimensionsHeight: 22.2 cm (8.7 in). Diameter: 50.2 cm (19.8 in).Current location (Inventory)Louvre Museum&#160;&#160;Native nameMusée du LouvreLocationParisCoordinates48°&#160;51′&#160;37″&#160;N, 2°&#160;20′&#160;15″&#160;E&#160; &#160;Established1793Websitewww.louvre.frAuthority control VIAF: 130051079 ISNI: 0000 0001 2260 177X ULAN: 500125189 LCCN: n80020283 NLA: 35912436 WorldCat This work is part of the collections of the Louvre (Department of Islamic Art).Accession numberLP 26 Object historyProvenance: Syria or EgyptReferencesMusée du Louvre, Atlas database: entry 21176Source/PhotographerSelf-photographed
context_page_description: 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.It was used as a baptismal font for future French Kings, making it an important Islamic and French historical object.
  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.
context_section_description: Several inscriptions are present on this basin. One Arabic inscription is positioned underneath the basin's rim and is adorned in silver. The other inscriptions are more concealed within the ornament, engraved on various objects. All of the inscriptions are engraved as cursive calligraphy (naskhi).
caption: Principal signature of Muhammad ibn al-Zayn
exif: {"Image Make": "Panasonic", "Image Model": "DMC-TZ2", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "Adobe Photoshop CS Windows", "Image DateTime": "2013:12:14 17:11:11", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image PrintIM": "[80, 114, 105, 110, 116, 73, 77, 0, 48, 50, 53, 48, 0, 0, 14, 0, 1, 0, 22, 0, ... ]", "Image ExifOffset": "436", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1018", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "5952", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/20", "EXIF FNumber": "4", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "1250", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2009:02:07 23:37:50", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2009:02:07 23:37:50", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "4", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "86/25", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Tungsten (incandescent light)", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "7", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "976", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "597", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Manual", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "43", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "High gain up", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal"}