----- ............Cemetery Walk: An afternoon of discovery! Every stone has a story. And they are waiting to be told........... -----

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Hands Clasped Stone

I was surprised to find only this small stone marking a grave at the Sterling Community Cemetery in my neighboring county.

Hands on tombstone

Fortunately, this cemetery has good records so I could always find out who rests here on another visit.

Hands Together Symbolism [1]
Matrimony when sleeves reflect a feminine and masculine look.
When gender neutral it can be heavenly welcome or earthly farewell.
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[1]Keister, Douglas. Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography. Salt Lake City: Gibbs Smith, 2004.
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5 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 5, 2012 at 12:15 PM

    A really great example of Victorian hand art. I wonder if the person's information is underground, or if that's the entire decorated part of the stone?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gale WallSeptember 5, 2012 at 12:36 PM

    I didn't do any digging, just pulled the grass back, but it appeared to be just this small stone. And, typically you see the carving surrounded by much more stone.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sharon CollieSeptember 8, 2012 at 4:38 PM

    I've seen this on a number of graves in Tennessee, Kentucky and Arkansas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gale WallSeptember 8, 2012 at 10:33 PM

      Hi Sharon,
      Was it just a small stone like this? I've seen this symbolism on many stones but it was on a much bigger stone and centered in a larger space of stone.

      Delete
  4. SeaThreePeeOSeptember 10, 2012 at 4:47 AM

    Beautiful carving of the hands. What a wonderful little stone.

    I wonder if you would be interested in linking up with my Cemetery Photograpy Link Up?

    Beneath Thy Feet





    ReplyDelete

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