View of gravestone sculpture of mother and child (no name) in the churchyard of St Columba's Old Parish Church, Kirkcolm.

Description View of gravestone sculpture of mother and child (no name) in the churchyard of St Columba's Old Parish Church, Kirkcolm.

Date c. 1986

Collection Papers of Betty Willsher, historian, St Andrews, Scotland

Catalogue Number SC 1532403

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 26914

Scope and Content Monument depicting a mother and child, St Columba's Old Parish Church and Graveyard, Kirkcolm, Dumfries & Galloway This low-relief red sandstone sculpture of a mother and child stands nearly 2.74m high. There are no inscriptions on any part of the stone, but its large scale suggests it marks the grave of a person held in great esteem. The female figure wears loosely-draped medieval dress, with broad belts around her waist and hips, in the style of maidens in Pre-Raphaelite paintings. The child at her feet is depicted naked. Both figures rest on a plinth decorated with draped stylised leaves. The rather naïve style of this sculpture suggests it was made by a local mason rather than a professional sculptor. A figure of a mother and child can represent the Madonna and Child, or in some instances symbolises the virtue of Charity, who is often depicted as a mother surrounded by infants. This monument stands in the c.18th-century churchyard of the ruined St Columba's Church, Kirkcolm, an enclosure which also includes a holy well. It is not known to whom the sculpture, which dates from c.1920, is dedicated. The other stones within the c.18th-century boundary wall are mainly of 19th century date. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/1532403

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap