When I wrote about the Sacred Heart previously, I mentioned that sometimes the heart would have blood droplets as if it was in the act of bleeding. This heart shows that feature very clearly.
Archive for the ‘Symbolism’ Category
A bleeding heart
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged bleeding, blood, blood droplets, donegal, donegal abbey, grave art, ireland, sacred heart, sculpture, symbolism on May 16, 2013 | 1 Comment »
Sacred Heart
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged county meath, grave art, heart, hill of tara, ireland, sacred heart, sacred heart of jesus christ, sculpture, symbolism on April 18, 2013 | 1 Comment »
The symbol on this tombstone is the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ – a flaming heart within a crown of thorns and topped with a cross. Some representations also include a halo of divine light, blood drops, or a lance wound like the one that Christ received in his side during the crucifixion. There is an associated Roman Catholic devotion.
Hail Mary
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged cleveland, grave art, lake view cemetery, ohio, rosary, sculpture, symbolism on February 12, 2013 | 1 Comment »
In my other life, I am a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), and one of my particular areas of interest is prayer beads. The rosary wasn’t standardized until the 1560s, but there were various forms of prayer beads used in Christian Europe for the previous few hundred years, and the rosary became the best known one and most associated with Roman Catholicism.
Emblems of belief
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged cross, Crosses, department of veterans affairs, government marker, lake view cemetery, star of david, symbolism, veteran on January 28, 2013 | 1 Comment »
In a tiny little veterans section of Lake View Cemetery, I found a more diverse selection of the emblems of belief available for government headstones for veterans. All the available emblems are listed here.
The most common one that I see is described simply as a Christian Cross.
Sgt. Eddie Fields’ stone has the symbol for the United Methodist Church.
The Roberts selected the emblem for the Unitarian Church/Unitarian Universalist Association.
The emblem for the United Church of Christ tops Sgt. Yancey’s stone.
Cpl. Mack Crosby has the Episcopal Cross.
The Didios’ stone has a symbol designated as representing “Christian Church.”
The Nesbitts have a Star of David, representative of Judaism.
Little stars
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged cincinnati, epitaphs, grave art, kirtland, kirtland historic north cemetery, ohio, sculpture, spring grove cemetery, star on December 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
I find a lot of little five-pointed stars on cemetery monuments. Based on a little bit of research, five-pointed stars often are supposed to symbolize Christ, specifically the five wounds of Christ from the crucifixion.
Alphas and Omegas
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged alpha and omega, buffalo, cleveland, forest lawn cemetery, grave art, lake view cemetery, new york, ohio, sculpture, symbolism on December 20, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Recently, I wrote about the Christian symbolism associated with the combination of the Greek letters alpha and omega. I’ve found even more photos that include this and wanted to share them with you.
The Holley family in Lake View Cemetery has them intertwined.
The Smiths of Forest Lawn Cemetery included the alpha and the omega symbols on their marker.
Stars of David
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged beth shalom cemetery, grave art, hebrew, judaism, ohio, oregon, star, star of david, symbolism on October 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
One of the most commonly recognized symbols of Judaism is the Star of David, a hexagram created by two overlapping triangles.
The Empty Chair
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged dayton, empty chair, grave art, ohio, sculpture, symbolism, woodland cemetery on August 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
The symbolism of the empty chair isn’t limited to cemeteries. It’s how the likelihood of Tiny Tim’s death is revealed to Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. Those who have ever watched Les Miserables know the song “Empty Chairs at Empty Tables,” sung by one of the few survivors of a failed revolution to his fallen comrades. An unoccupied chair is a silent reminder of those who are not with us.
Hints of the past
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged anchor, astrolabe, buffalo, forest lawn cemetery, grave art, new york, sculpture, symbolism, tombstone tales on July 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Walter Norton’s monument doesn’t state his occupation, but I’m going to guess that he was a sailor, possibly specifically a captain or navigator, since he has both an anchor and an astrolabe on his monument.
Wheels
Posted in Cemetery Sculpture, Symbolism, tagged buffalo, forest lawn cemetery, grave art, new york, sculpture, symbolism, wheel on June 11, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
Wheels have meaning in different cultures, but the one probably intended in these images is the cycle of life. Life, the wheel promises, is cyclical rather than linear. Those buried under this symbol have not ended, but moved onto next cycle of life.
