piscina

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piscina. (pl. piscinae). Stone basin connected with a drainage channel for carrying away the water used in rinsing the vessels employed at Mass and washing the hands of the Priest. It was usually set in a niche in the south wall of a chancel in a church to be near the altar, though it was sometimes carried on a short colonnette or projected from the face of a wall. Piscinae, which were often equipped with a credence-table for the vessels, were frequently ornamented with an elaborate canopy, sometimes designed as part of the sedilia installation, in which case the ensemble was called prismatory.

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