The site of the ancient Church of St. Maelrubba, at the head of Loch Eynort in the south of Skye, is now occupied by a more recent ruin.[147] A very interesting relic of the ancient church is, however, preserved in the remarkable font (Figs. [1314] and [1315]), which, after some wandering and neglect, has at last found a suitable resting-place in the Museum of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in Edinburgh. An account of its transference from the shore of Loch Eynort to the Museum is given by Mr. J. Russell Walker, in a paper on “Scottish Baptismal Fonts” in the Proceedings of that Society, 1886-7, p. 412. The bowl is circular, both externally and internally, and the basin is 1 foot 6½ inches in diameter and 13 inches deep. The circumference is divided into four equal parts by four figures representing—(1) The Crucifixion, (2) The Blessed Virgin with the Child, (3) a mitred bishop in full canonicals with a crosier in his left hand, and (4) St. Michael slaying the dragon. The panels to the right and left of the Crucifixion are filled with interlaced work, and those to the right and left of the bishop with inscriptions not now legible. On the lower sloping parts between the figures are floral designs. The font is of hornblende gneiss, and the carving is remarkable in that hard material. There seem
Fig. 1314.—St. Maelrubba. Font.
to be the remains of four caps, as if there had been four shafts to support the bowl.
Fig. 1315.—St. Maelrubba. Font.
The carving of this font is a striking illustration of the peculiar mixture of Celtic and Gothic work, of which numerous specimens are above noticed in connection with the structures of the Western Highlands and Islands, as at Iona, Rowdil, &c.
The examples of the third or late pointed period of Gothic architecture given above sufficiently indicate the progress of the style during the period, and show its gradual decline.