Objects, Tools & Forms
Objects, instruments, occupational tools and symbolic memorial forms that may point to belief, work or identity.
How to use this collection
Objects, instruments, occupational tools and symbolic memorial forms that may point to belief, work or identity. The collection is organized as an identification aid, not a universal codebook. Compare the full design and verify the result with inscription, date and local records.
Anchor
hope, steadfastness, Christian faith or a seafaring life
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Anchor and Cross
Christian hope and faith, often read through Hebrews' “anchor of the soul” imagery
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Anchor with Chain
steadfastness, attachment, seafaring identity or life ended if the chain is broken
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Anvil
blacksmithing, craft, endurance or industrial work
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Artist's Palette
painting, artistic occupation or creative identity
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Bible
Christian faith, clergy or devotion to scripture
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Blacksmith Tongs
blacksmithing, metalwork and craft identity
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Broken Anchor
life ended, hope tested or a severed earthly bond
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Broken Chain
earthly bonds severed, death, release of the spirit or a family/fraternal link ended
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Broken Column
a life interrupted before its natural completion
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Broken Sword
a military or courageous life cut short
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Bugle
military service, the call to resurrection or a specific unit tradition
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Caduceus
modern medical or military-medical identity; historically distinct from the Rod of Asclepius
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Camera
photography, documentation or a personal passion
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Carpenter's Tools
carpentry, building trades or—in a religious composition—St. Joseph
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Chalice
the sacraments, Christian ministry and especially Eucharistic devotion
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Chalice and Host
the Catholic Eucharist; often found on clergy memorials
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Closed Book
a completed life, faith, learning or a story no longer being written
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Closed Gate
separation, guarded rest or a literal cemetery/plot motif
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Crossed Fire Axes
fire service, courage and firefighter identity
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Crossed Swords
military identity, battle, rank or readiness
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Crown
reward, glory, sovereignty or triumph in heaven
Open field entry
Crown and Cross
victory through Christian faith and triumph over death
Open field entry
Doorway
passage, heavenly entrance and transition
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Draped Urn
mourning and death intensified by the shroud or drapery
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Fire Helmet
fire service and firefighter identity
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Full Column
a completed or noble life, classical dignity or architectural commemoration
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Gavel
law, judicial service, leadership or lodge office
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Hammer
craft, industry, a trade, fraternal symbolism or strength
Open field entry
Harp
heavenly worship, music, hope or a musician's identity
Open field entry
Helmet
military service, courage, rank or a classical warrior motif
Open field entry
Key and Cross
Christian access to heaven, St. Peter or church authority
Open field entry
Keys
spiritual knowledge, authority, St. Peter or access to heaven
Open field entry
Ladder
ascent, spiritual progress, perfection or the soul's journey
Open field entry
Lamp
knowledge, learning, spiritual light and immortality of the spirit
Open field entry
Lantern
guidance, vigilance, memory and light through darkness
Open field entry
Locomotive
railroad occupation, travel, industrial identity or a fatal incident only when documented elsewhere
Open field entry
Loom Shuttle
weaving and textile occupation
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Lyre
music, poetry, classical culture or an artistic occupation
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Miner's Lamp
mining occupation, guidance and light underground
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Mortar and Pestle
pharmacy, medicine, apothecary work or healing
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Open Book
scripture, learning, the Book of Life or a life displayed for remembrance
Open field entry
Open Gate
entrance to heaven, passage and transition into the afterlife
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Pick and Shovel
mining, excavation, labor or cemetery-work symbolism depending on arrangement
Open field entry
Plow
farming, labor, cultivation or a life rooted in the land
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Police Badge
law-enforcement service; exact badge design and inscription should confirm the agency
Open field entry
Quill Pen
writing, teaching, scholarship or a life story; “unfinished story” readings require context
Open field entry
Rod of Asclepius
medicine, healing and a medical occupation
Open field entry
Scales of Justice
law, judgment, fairness or a legal occupation
Open field entry
Scroll
life and time unfolding, honor, memorial inscription or a hidden past and future
Open field entry
Sewing Shears
tailoring, dressmaking, textile work or a personal craft
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Shield
protection, faith, military service, family arms or organizational identity
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Ship
seafaring identity, voyage, safe passage or the church as a vessel
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Ship's Wheel
maritime service, navigation and a seafaring life
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Sickle and Wheat
agriculture, harvest, mortality or a farming occupation
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Spinning Wheel
textile work, domestic industry, craft or folk identity
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Surveyor's Compass
surveying, geometry, navigation or—when paired with a square and G—Freemasonry
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Sword
military service, courage, justice, martyrdom or a saint's attribute
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Teacher's Slate
teaching, schooling, literacy or childhood education
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Three-Link Chain
Friendship, Love and Truth when paired with F-L-T; emblem of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows
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Trumpet
resurrection, judgment, proclamation or military identity
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Urn
mourning, death and the body as a vessel of the soul; a neoclassical symbol even when burial was not by cremation
Open field entry
Violin
musical occupation, talent or a personal passion
Open field entry
Wheel
the cycle of life, travel, industry or a specific trade; spokes and accompanying tools matter
Open field entry