View of gravestone with winged soul and body in shroud.
SC 789883
Description View of gravestone with winged soul and body in shroud.
Date c. 1980
Collection Papers of Betty Willsher, historian, St Andrews, Scotland
Catalogue Number SC 789883
Category On-line Digital Images
Copy of J 6049 CS
Scope and Content Gravestone of John McTaggart and Jean McDowall, Old Parish Church and Burial Ground, Kirkcowan, Dumfries & Galloway This tall stone features a winged soul, emblem of the soul ascending to Heaven after death, between scrolled brackets in its tympanum (top section). Below this is the inscribed panel, with its curving, elegant script. The lower panel shows a rare depiction of a corpse in its coffin, seen from above. The dead man wears a loin cloth and is surrounded by stylised 'earth' and leaves. Above the coffin is inscribed: 'MEMENTO MORI' (remember death). The winged soul expresses a belief in an afterlife for the deceased, whilst the carving of the coffin and corpse suggest to the reader the realities of death, and serve as a reminder to live a good life. This gravestone commemorates John McTaggart and Jean McDowall who died in 1743. It is inscribed: 'The burying place/of John McTaggart/in Calaggan and/Jean Mcdowall Spouses/Anno Dom1743'. Source: RCAHMS contribution to SCRAN.
Accession Number 1998/128
External Reference BWA/142/CS
Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/789883
File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap
Attribution: © HES (Betty Willsher Collection)
Licence Type: Educational
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