Author Archives: gravelyspeaking

Art Moderne

Posted on April 24, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The Mitchell Anthony Mausoleum in Muncie, Indiana, has long styraight lines characteristic of Art Moderne Architecture popular from the 1920s until the late 1970s.  The design is similar to Art Deco in that they both use straight lines with bare … Continue reading →

Posted in Mausoleums | Leave a comment

Lily of the Valley

Posted on April 22, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

  The lily of the valley is not actually a lily.  It belongs in the family Asparagaceae, not Liliaceae.   In spite of that, the lily of the valley is treated much like other lilies in funerary art as a symbol … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | Leave a comment

Home in Heaven

Posted on April 19, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The epitaph for this 12-year old child speaks to the parent’s grief and the broken “circle” of the family.  There is also a hint that the little girl may have suffered an illness and death brought an end to her … Continue reading →

Posted in Epitaphs | Leave a comment

A Crown of Victory

Posted on April 18, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

Nearly obscured by the moss hanging on this tombstone is the  crown in the center of the cross.  The crown is a symbol of glory and reward and victory over death.  The epitaph on this memorial to prebyterian ministers makes it … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | Leave a comment

The Finger Pointing Upward

Posted on April 16, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The finger pointing upward, indicates the soul traveling to Heaven, sometimes a presumptuous claim, though a hopeful one. The finger pointing upwards can be coupled with other symbols: a willow tree, a traditional symbol of sorrow indicating while the soul … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | Leave a comment

Two little lambs

Posted on April 13, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

CHARLIE            BERTIE There  like an Eden blos- soming in gladness Bloom the fair flowers the earth too rudly prized. This gravestone displays twin lambs facing each other over the names of the twin brothers whose graves the tombstone marks. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | 1 Comment

Warren G. Harding

Posted on April 12, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

“In the great fulfillment, we must have a citizenship less concerned about what the government can do for it and more anxious about what it can do for the nation.” –U.S. Senator, Warren G. Harding, Republican National Convention, 1916 Warren Gamaliel … Continue reading →

Posted in Presidential graves | 1 Comment

The All-Seeing Eye of God

Posted on April 10, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

The all-seeing eye of God, also called the Eye of Providence is one of many symbols of Masonic iconography.  This symbol is to remind Masons that all of their actions and deeds are being observed by the watchful eye of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | Leave a comment

The Broken Chain

Posted on April 9, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

In the cemetery, much of the iconography represents a life ended—the winged death’s head, the hanging bud, the broken wheel, the incomplete circle, the column that is broken. The gravestone below has a broken chain that wraps around the pedestal … Continue reading →

Posted in Symbolism | Leave a comment

They will meet in Heaven

Posted on April 6, 2012 by gravelyspeaking

This angel looking toward Heaven is holding an open book and a quill.  The angel is clearly poised to write in the book.  Here the angel is registering the name of the deceased into the Book of Life.  In Judaism … Continue reading →

Posted in Angels, Epitaphs | Leave a comment