Graveyard

Graveyard
The Matthews Monument at Green-Wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, NY

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Final Curtain Call

Kaiserville Cemetery, Kaiserville, PA

The art of carving "cloth" out of stone continues to awe me.  Nineteenth-century tombstone carvers used the symbol of cloth, specifically carved to resemble a curtain, or more correctly, a veil, to highlight other symbols.  Frequently, the veil is parted to reveal a book (mostly likely the Bible), a lamb (a symbol of the death of a child or infant), a flower (a symbol of mortality), or even a gravestone symbol.  Veils are meant to protect the item they surround, and they also represent the dividing line between this world and the afterlife.  When the veil is parted, it allows the viewer to see beyond into the afterlife.  Many veils are decorated with tassels and ornate holdbacks, demonstrating the great reverence those left behind had for their deceased loved ones.  Enjoy these examples, and contact me at tschane2@verizon.net.

Bethel Methodist Cemetery, Bedford Valley, PA

Veil over a Box Tombstone, Laurel Grove Cemetery, Port Jervis, NY

 
Brodheadsville Cemetery, Brodheadsville, PA

Brodheadsville Cemetery, Brodheadsville, PA

Effort Cemetery, Effort, PA

Friedens UCC Cemetery, Slatington, PA

Friedens UCC Cemetery, Slatington, PA

Friedens UCC Cemetery, Slatington, PA

Gilbert Cemetery, Gilbert, PA
 
Haupt Cemetery, Ambler, PA


Heidelberg Union Cemetery, Slatington, PA

Jordan UCC Cemtery, Walbert, PA

Jordan UCC Cemtery, Walbert, PA

Jordan UCC Cemtery, Walbert, PA

Jordan UCC Cemtery, Walbert, PA

Jordan UCC Cemtery, Walbert, PA

Since he was a reverend, this scroll might represent a religious tract, Kaiserville Cemetery, Kaiserville, PA

Kaiserville Cemetery, Kaiserville, PA

A lot of symbols here:  a bouquet of flowers (mortality) with the stem and ribbon forming a cross, a broken rose (mortality and love), a lovely veil "hung" on rings, and upside-down torches (God's everlasting light and love), Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

Laurel Hill Cemetery, Philadelphia, PA

Mt. Sharon Cemetery, Springfield, PA

Mt. Sharon Cemetery, Springfield, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Hanover Lutheran Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

New Hanover Lutheran Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

Newton Cemetery, Newton Ransom, PA

Newton Cemetery, Newton Ransom, PA

Oak Hill Cemetery, Washington, D.C.

Old Falkner Swamp UCC Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

Old Falkner Swamp UCC Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

Old Falkner Swamp UCC Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

Rosedale Cemetery, Montclair, NJ

Rosedale Cemetery, Montclair, NJ

Saylorsburg Cemetery, Saylorsburg, PA

Saylorsburg Cemetery, Saylorsburg, PA

Saylorsburg Cemetery, Saylorsburg, PA

St. John's Union Cemetery, Nazareth, PA

St. Luke Episcopal Cemetery, Newtown, PA

St. Patrick's Cemetery, Norristown, PA

St. Paul's UCC of Indianland Cemetery, Cherryville, PA

St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran Cemetery, Lafayette Hill, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

New Goshenhoppen Union Cemetery, East Greenville, PA

Old Falkner Swamp UCC Cemetery, Gilbertsville, PA

Tennent Presbyterian Cemetery, Malapan, NJ

Trinity Great Swamp UCC Cemetery, Spinnerstown, PA

Trinity UCC Cemetery, Boonsboro, MD

Trinity UCC Cemetery, Boonsboro, MD

Tunkhannock Cemetery, Tunkhannock, PA

Trumbauersville UCC Cemetery, Trumbauersville, PA


Wilkes Barre City Cemetery, Wilkes Barre, PA

Zion's Stone Church Cemetery, New Ringgold, PA

Friedens UCC Cemetery, Slatington, PA

Heidelberg Union Cemetery, Slatington, PA

St. Paul's UCC of Indianland Cemetery, Cherryville, PA