Detail of Old Father Time panel from the headstone of John Kennedy, 1733. Digital image of A 34981 PO

Description Detail of Old Father Time panel from the headstone of John Kennedy, 1733. Digital image of A 34981 PO

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

Catalogue Number SC 803748

Category On-line Digital Images

Copy of A 34981 PO

Scope and Content Gravestone commemorating John Kennedy, Kells Churchyard, Dumfries & Galloway As a shopkeeper, the scales were the tools of John Kennedy's trade. Set between a pair of pilasters, resembling flattened Classical pillars, the merchant is shown weighing some goods. However, the scene carries another meaning as the scales are an allusion to the weighing of souls at Heaven's gate. On the right, the bearded figure represents Old Father Time, and the very embodiment of man's ultimate mortality. Memorials to 17th- and 18th-century merchants or shopkeepers often make use of a symbol which resembles the figure '4', an emblem derived from the arms of the Stirling Guildry which was an association of merchants in that burgh. These marks are found across Scotland, and have been found in Edinburgh carved into door lintels of early 17th-century date. This gravestone commemorates John Kennedy, a merchant or shopkeeper, who died in 1733, aged 64. At least two of his children are also buried here. The inscription reads: '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.

Permalink http://canmore.org.uk/collection/803748

File Format (TIF) Tagged Image File Format bitmap