Dunning, St. Serf's Parish Church, Graveyard. General view of West face of the tombstone commemorating Alexander Henderson's parents. A winged soul above weaving loom and shuttle with foliate surround ...

Description Dunning, St. Serf's Parish Church, Graveyard. General view of West face of the tombstone commemorating Alexander Henderson's parents. A winged soul above weaving loom and shuttle with foliate surround, crossed bones, skull and hourglass. Insc: '1761. WH, IH, GH, IH, DH, IH, AH. Memento Mori'.

Date 1975

Catalogue Number PT 4314

Category Photographs and Off-line Digital Images

Copies SC 803367

Scope and Content Gravestone of 'W H', 'I H' and family, St Serf's Church and Churchyard, Dunning, Perth & Kinross This gravestone features a sweeping curved top with a finely-carved winged soul below. Its head is carved within a circular recess, giving it a haloed effect. This figure symbolises the soul ascending to Heaven after death. Below can be seen a representation of a weaving loom and shuttle, flanked by foliate ornaments. At the base of the stone is a pair of crossed bones and a skull (emblems of death) and an hourglass (symbol of life's brevity). The inscription 'MEMENTO MORI' (remember you must die) is carved around the top of the skull. The majority of Scottish gravestones place the image of the soul at the top of the stone, and emblems of death at the bottom. This is partly a compositional device, as winged soul heads fit neatly into the arched tympanum (top part) of the stone, but on a symbolic level, it shows the human spirit triumphing over death. This gravestone, dated 1761, commemorates 'W H', 'I H', G H', 'I H', 'D H', 'I H' and A H'. A later inscription was added to the back of the stone. This reads: '1855/ERECTED/BY/ALEXANDER HENDERSON/in MEMORY of/his Father/ROBERT HENDERSON/Who died 29th March/Aged [...] years/And his Mother HELEN/WILSON WIFE of the above/who died 16th Febr 1861/Aged [...] years'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

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