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Monumental masonry (also known as memorial masonry) is a kind of stonemasonry focused on the creation, installation and repairs of
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Monumental masonry (also known as memorial masonry) is a kind of stonemasonry focused on the creation, installation and repairs of headstones
A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's nam ...
(also known as gravestones and tombstones) and other memorials.Monumental Masons/ref>
Cultural significance
In Christian cultures, many families choose to mark the site of a burial of a family member with a gravestone. Typically the gravestone is engraved with information about the deceased person, usually including their name and date of death. Additional information may include date of birth, place of birth and relationships to other people (usually parents, spouses and/or children). Sometimes a verse from theBible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...
or a short poem is included, generally on a theme relating to love, death
Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, grief, or heaven.
The headstone is typically arranged after the burial. The choice of materials (typically a long-lasting kind of stone, such as marble or granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
) and the style and wording of the inscription is negotiated between the monumental mason and the family members. Because of the emotional significance of the headstone to the family members, monumental masons have to be especially sensitive in their dealings with family members, especially in relation to the trade-off between expectations and cost.
As a craft
Unlike the work of most stonemasons, the work of the monumental mason is of small size, often just a small slab of stone, but generally with a highly detailed finish. Generally gravestones are highly polished with detailed engraving of text and symbols. Some memorials are more elaborate and may involve thesculpture
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...
of symbols associated with death, such as angels
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...
, hands joined in prayer, and vases of flowers. Some specially-made stones feature artistic lettering
Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to de ...
by letter cutters.
By the beginning of the twentieth century the craft had deteriorated to the point that Lawrence Weaver felt compelled to write, "To-day many of the persons who are curiously called 'monumental masons' bring to their task neither educated taste nor the knowledge of good historical examples; they are often, moreover, incompetent in their craftmanship. The more important shops which purvey marble monuments are, if anything, rather worse, for they stereotype bad designs, which are the more offensive because more ambitious and costly. The clerical tailors who sell most of the engraved brasses have mainly succeeded in making that form of memorial the most dreary. All three sources of supply have added a new terror to death."Weaver, Lawrence, ''Memorials and Monuments: Old and New: Two hundred subjects chosen from seven centuries'', Published at the offices of "Country Life", London, 1915 p. 1-2
Monumental masons
References