A home stoup was a small font with a small bowl and a decorated plaque that Catholic people hung inside their homes, either in the entrance, or more often on the wall of their bedroom, near the head of their bed.[1] Sometimes, they put on it a piece of blessed buxus,[2] or they hung a rosary ring.
The small bowl contained holy water. Everybody in the home used it to sign himself on the morning, and to make the sign of the cross over her bed before bedtime.[3]
The use of these stoups began in the earliest centuries of the Catholic Church. They were made of expensive materials (gold, silver...) or cheap ones (faience, ceramic, wood) depending on the fortunes of their owner. They were hand-made with a painting or relief of Jesus of Nazareth, the Holy Cross, the Virgin Mary, an angel, or other religious subjects.[3]
Most of theses stoups were destroyed and disappeared during the French Revolution in 1789 and following years.
In the nineteenth century, most of the these stoups were made in ceramic. Some were unique pieces with the first and last name of their future owner. They were given for special events, such as birth, First Communion, or a wedding.
These stoups were also given from parents to children, but their use decreased in France after 1900. Today, they are collected by amateurs of pieces of art.