An impression from a 1700's gravestone using kiln fired stoneware pottery clay. Each one-of-a-kind piece is handmade using a master mold from a CNC produced replica of the original headstone.

This imprint features a very chill skeleton reclining on a winged hourglass next to a plant. This is a detail of a much larger carving that features an anchor and a child on the other half of the stone. Someone who was traveling through some historical gravestones took a photo of the half featuring the skeleton and using that we were able to create our model.

Using a detailed photo of the stone we are able to re-create a 3D model that is then sent to a CNC machine which in turn reproduces the original headstone complete. This process allows us to create an image from a stone without having to travel or work directly with the stone itself. Every effort is done to recreate the image as closely to the carving on the stone itself but please expect slight differences in the reproduction such as size and fine details that our software may not pick up and is added by hand to the final model. For instance, in this piece the teeth may not be completely accurate as our machine did not pick up this detail. Having said that we have found that the glazes often help hide these minor differences. At times in our shop, we will try to offer impressions that are the size of the actual gravestones, but we have found that these miniatures are popular for gift giving or for adding to a grouping of wall art.

This model was created using the carving from the gravestone of Maria Quincy who was the daughter of Samuelis Quincy. Maria died 3 weeks after her mother on September 13, 1742, and rests in Saint Philips's Episcopal Church Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina. Maria was only 11 or 12 years old at the time of her passing. I believe this is the work of stone carver Henry Emmes and the stone is slate.

This item has been glazed in a rough black glaze that is very rough and primitive over a pale clay and measures 4 x 7 1/8 inches at its widest points. My friends did not measure the stone, so I am not sure how close it is to the measurements of Maria's actual gravestone.

I am always looking for information about the people that the gravestone impressions belong to, and I will update my listings whenever I have information to share.

Thank you for visiting our shop. We appreciate everyone who comes to see our items with or without a purchase and we always enjoy meeting others who share an interest in these unusual and historical carvings. As we complete the transition in our shop to using reproduction models and replacing our previous impressions, we will be adding new pieces that are from areas we haven't visited throughout the Eastern area of the U.S. and even Europe. It is an exciting time in our shop, and we are looking forward to all of the opportunities this switch will offer us and our customers! Thanks again for visiting our shop and your patience as we grow our collection of impressions!