The Mourning over the Dead Christ
detail from Tomb of William Ewart Gladstone and Catherine Gladstone
Photo © Martin Crampin, Imaging the Bible in Wales | 1906 Stone-carved monument of William and Catherine Gladstone with crucifix and angel at their heads. Scenes around the base of the tomb include the Adoration of the Magi and the Deposition, together with figures including St George, St Andrew, St David and St Patrick, Dant-, Homer, Aristotle and King David.medium: stone;metal technique: carved size: 64 cm (height of figure). 41 cm (height of corner figures). 40 cm x 83.5 cm (adoring Magi) designer: William Richmond Church of St Deiniol, Hawarden, Flintshire centre of Gladstone Chapel on north side of church Dedication: 'To the glory of God and in reverent and loving memory of William Ewart Gladstone and of Catherine his wife. This shrine has been built and this monument placed within the church where they worshipped in their home that they loved by their son Henry Neville Gladstone. July 28 1906'. It is not obvious which of the figures around the tomb chest are which. Andrew holds his saltire cross on the north side, and the figure dressed as a bishop next to Andrew is perhaps David. The figure holding the boat alongside George on the south side is perhaps Patrick, who is known for his sea voyages and his departure from Britain to Ireland. A figure playing a harp on the south-west corner could be the biblical David, or he may be the crowned figure on the north-west corner. |
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- adoration of the kings: the Wise Men present their gifts to the Christ-child (gold, frankincense and myrrh) [Matthew 2:11]
- Crucified Christ suffering (with crown of thorns) [Matthew 27:33-58; Mark 15:22-45; Luke 23:33-52; John 19:17-38]
- the mourning over the dead Christ
- Aristotle, Greek philosopher
- Christ-child suckling, or beginning to suckle
- Dante, author of the Divine Comedy
- Homer, Greek poet
- Madonna: Mary sitting or enthroned, the Christ-child in her lap
- St Andrew, apostle
- St David
- St George
- St Patrick
- the four symbols of the evangelists, 'the apocalyptic beasts' [Revelation 4:6-8]
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Further reading
Edward Hubbard, The Buildings of Wales: Clwyd (Harmondsworth/Cardiff: Penguin/University of Wales Press, 1986), p. 366.
T. W. Pritchard, A History of the Old Parish of Hawarden (Wrexham: Bridge Books, 2002), pp. 109–10.
Photo © Martin Crampin, Imaging the Bible in Wales
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