Colonial Gravestone Reproduction: Kiln-Fired Clay Angel Effigy - Milford, CT

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 or hand modeled.

This imprint features a very serious looking angel effigy with very detailed feathers and eyes. One of the more feminine looking angels I have seen, I love the sweet moon face that the carver has created. During a trip to Connecticut, we found this stone in Milford Cemetery. It belongs to a woman named Susanna Clarke who was the wife of Thomas. Susanna died on December 11, 1742, at the age of 36 years. I believe that this is the work of stone carver William Stevens.

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. For stones that we have worked with in the past we will try to produce our models in actual sizes but for the models that we have not worked with measurements may be slightly off. This process allows us to create an image from a stone without having to travel or work directly with the stone itself. Thanks to the shallow carving on this stone the final look is going to look very much like 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 eyelashes may not be completely accurate as our machine did not pick up this detail. We also softened and filled out the cheeks of the face a bit on our reproduction. Having said that we have found that the glazes often help hide these minor differences.

This item has been glazed in a matte black over a pale-colored clay. It measures 5 3/8 x 11 inches at its widest points. Please remember that the eyelashes on this piece may not be completely accurate as our machine did not pick up this detail. Each piece comes with a tag that will provide names, dates and the location of the stone that inspired the piece.

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!