Monday, February 13, 2012

Taphophile Tragics # 8


This grave marker is in Port Macquarie General Cemetery, which is on the side of a gently sloping hill. It is not the best maintained country cemetery I have wandered. The grass was badly in need of a mow, but they have suffered from a surfeit of rain for the last few weeks. Quite a few graves and their markers were showing wear and tare, not so much from vandalism, but the effects of wind and rain. Name plates tumbled down, fences off hinges, markers subsiding. But lots of stories within. I cover one such story in my own post this week.

What I did find remarkable in the Port cemetery, is the amount of inlaid tiling. There must have been a monumental mason who also held a tiling shop. It seemed to be one way of decorating the cemetery. Someone had also gone around with lots of plastic/silk flowers which were everywhere, even on markers erected during the late 19th early 20th centuries.



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Welcome to the eighth week of Taphophile Tragics. After a most traumatic week organising a nursing home for my brother who has suffered a stroke, I eventually managed to visit each post. I am loving this immense learning curve that I am on. Hope you are each on one, too.I can go into cemeteries now and see things that I would have overlooked just 8 weeks ago. I can draw links to other cemeteries, especially regarding style.

Please link directly to your post, rather than simply to your blog in general. Mr Linky opens at 10pm Monday, Sydney time (GMT+11). When you can, please visit the contributing bloggers to show your appreciation of their endeavours.

34 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not sure I have seen a tiled grave before, well, at least like this one. The tile work is just beautiful!

diane b said...

Beautiful way to preserve a marker. Love that colour blue.

Neil J Murphy said...

The tiling is interesting, but the grammar policeman in me is cringing at the use of an apostrophe on the word 'always'.

Julie said...

Neil: police away! I cannot even begin to imagine why the mason thought an apostrophe was required in this situation. However, he probably had carving skills I can only envy ...

Anonymous said...

Beautiful inlay tiling, I've never seen this on any of the memorials here in Norfolk, Ontario.

hamilton said...

I hope you will show us more of these tiled markers.
So sorry to hear about your brother.

Gemma Wiseman said...

I have seen a few tiled graves, but not with that lovely bubbled, glassy effect! So very lovely!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

Hi Julie, an interesting finish for a grave stone to be sure. I tend to agree with you about the conflict of interest of the monumental mason!

I am taking you to the catacombs of Palermo in my post today, but be warned, the photos are graphic and not for the squeamish!

tapirgal said...

So sorry to hear about your brother. I hope he will be recovering well.

The grave here looks jewelled, not tiled. I haven't seen anything like it!

Melbourne Australia Photos said...

PS: Sorry to learn about your brother, Julie. Must have been a very tough time for you...

Dianne said...

Yes Julie! it's interesting to see the different materials used in different areas of the world ... I guess it came down to what was available and in general use at the time.
The blue tiles have certainly kept their colour over the years and I would have to say I like the effect.

Ann said...

this is beautiful tiling. Its the cultural differences I find most interesting, even within the same religion.

VioletSky said...

I have never seen anything quite like this before, either. It looks like a quilt over a bed - how nice.

Sondra said...

what a beautiful stone..It seems to be standing the test of time quite well! Hope your brother will be comfortable and well cared for.

Peter said...

Yes tiling, when I was small my teacher would take us to Rookwood, near my school, where we encouraged to take tiles for our craft project.

Gene said...

Love the tiles. I haven't seen anything like that before.

Joan Elizabeth said...

What pretty tiles. I don't think I have ever seen tiles to beautiful on a grave or anywhere else.

I'm running out of old posts ... better go grave spotting soon.

biebkriebels said...

I like the blue glass it looks beautiful this way.

Mark said...

I went to Maclean Cemetery on the weekend but not happy with the shots i took. I also noticed many graves were tiled and thought at the time it might be a 'cheap' way of making the grave attractive as they would be using remainder tiles for the job. Some were very ugly so not so. I like the blue that you found.

SeaThreePeeO said...

How beautiful! Makes a change from those awful green glass chippings we have here.

Herding Cats

http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.com

Julie said...

OOO ... I would like an image of the 'green glass chippings.

Mark, it had occurred to me that with tiles, flowers are really not necessary. In Port General, some of the tiles are attractve and some are not. Many of the footers were entirely tiled, a la the back step. A bit offputting at first, but in that particular part of the cemetery it was the rule rather than the exception, so I grew used to it.

E.L. Hunter said...

LOL! Neil, I have seen that a lot recently! "It's plural, not possessive!" Yeah, makes me freak too! But, I have to admit, I was so taken by those stones that I didn't even notice. Shame on me! :)

I love this meme, Julie! Thank you and I'll start thinking of ways to participate. It has actually inspired as I was reading and I thank you for that, too.

Dina said...

I'm sorry about your brother. Hoping things will improve soon.

That tile is so unique. I rather like it.

Kathy said...

Here in the US in older cemeteries we have graves that have cast iron covers, but I must say I have never seen one with tiling. It's very beautiful. Thanks for hosting this blog.

CaT said...

just posted mine! i would love to check out all the other posts, including yours, but its really time for bed now...
tomorrow i will!

SeaThreePeeO said...

The name of the monument masons was in lead letters on a corner stone.

It is quite common for the larger more expensive monuments here to have a makers stamp. I guess another way of advertising their work.

Herding Cats

http://seathreepeeo.blogspot.com

Julie said...

Many times, PawRellie, I go looking for the name of the monumental mason, but with very little success. I cannot believe that our Auztralian masons are of a retiring complexion! I am off out to Rookwood again this weekend. Looking for symbols and looking for masons.

CaT said...

i think this is very pretty. i never saw such a grave before!
i think around here the graves look almost like cardboard (at least the older ones), they are soo thin! yet i do like their shapes, more than the new graves that all have the same shape, thickness and shine.
at many cemeteries here i see signs that artificial flowers are prohibited, and only allowed during winter months. i find that funny.

i really like your comments on my blog, and its extra pressure to not be lazy.. or should i say stimulus.. :)

Zyzzyz said...

It looks a very colourful grave.

Virginia said...

Julie from time to time I will stop in and post here. I have one tomorrow from Paris, the pet cemetery. I hope it's not too late. Sorry I didn't post two I put on my B'ham blog last week. It's hard for me to keep up with the memes, but hope to do better in the future.
V

Stefan Jansson said...

I have never seen anything like that before. I will post my Tragic tomorrow.

Julie said...

Thanks, Steffe. I will look forward to it.

Need to say that I replied to Virginia directly on her Birmingham blog. VJ and I go back a long way, having started out CDPBs within a couple of weeks of each other in May 2007. Of course, I erased my first blog and had to start again.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

These tiles look like jewels. My immediate association is with gothic stained glass windows. The grave is distinctive and likely long lasting. Lovely and inspirational.

Virginia said...

J,
I finally remembered to join up today!
V