The use of popular ceramic bowls as holy water and baptismal fonts in spanish american colonial churches

Abstract

This paper discloses the case of popular ceramic bowls that, whether or not incorporated as architectural features, have been used as holy water or baptismal fonts in colonial churches in Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela. It is proposed here that this form of use was a common practice because of the special situation of supply and market in which these areas were involved until the early Nineteenth century. The study of these cases will allow us to reflect on the ambiguous character of the material culture and warn of the dangers that may involve associating in an aprioristic and out of context way a particular type of object with an specific use, context of use, or meaning.