Gravestone of a merchant depicting Father Time, 1733

Description Gravestone of a merchant depicting Father Time, 1733

Date c. 1980

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

Catalogue Number SC 789776

Category On-line Digital Images

Scope and Content Gravestone of John Kennedy, Kells Churchyard, Kells, Dumfries & Galloway This shows the lower part of the gravestone, with its carving of a set of scales (a fitting emblem for a merchant) between two figures. The man on the left is the merchant himself, who has placed a weight in the scales. The figure on the right is Old Father Time, dressed in robes and with a long beard. He is seen to tip the scales down with his hand. Symbolic scales feature in the iconography of many cultures as devices to 'weigh' the soul after death, determining its place in the afterlife. For example, in Egyptian art the deceased heart was 'weighed' against a 'feather of truth' to indicate its worth. In this scene, the merchant has tried to weigh down the scales, but Time pulls them down all the same, indicating his power over mankind. This gravestone commemorates John Kennedy, who died in 1732, Marion Kennedy, who died in 1732, and Agnes Kennedy, who died in 1733. It is inscribed: 'HERE LYS/THE CORPS OF JOHN KENNEDY/WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE/DECEMBER 7th 1732/AGED 64 ALSO MARION/...1732/AGNES 1733 CHILDREN TO/JOHN KENNEDY MERCHANT/IN NEW GALLOWAY AND HIS/SPOUSE ELIZABETH CHAMBERS'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.

External Reference BWA/32/S

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/789776

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap