Name/Title
1872 Coffin PlateEntry/Object ID
100075 Tags
Hannah Jane BullScope and Content
(AI) What is a Coffin Plate?
During the 19th century, funeral customs became highly elaborate. A decorative metal plate—usually made of silvered lead, pewter, britannia metal, or brass—was custom-engraved with the deceased person's name, date of death, and age.
The Funeral: The plate was temporarily screwed or tacked onto the lid of the wooden coffin so mourners could identify it during the viewing and procession.
The Keepsake: Before the coffin was lowered into the ground, the plate was often unscrewed and handed to the grieving family. They kept it as a precious memento of their lost loved one, frequently mounting it on velvet, framing it, or keeping it safely in a family trunk alongside other genealogical records.
The Inscription
The engraving on this silvered plate is beautifully executed in classic 19th-century calligraphic script:
Hannah Jane Bull
DIED Nov. 11th 1872
Aged 51 Yrs. 1 Mo.
The accompanying handwritten note gives us a vital genealogical link, noting that she was the "widow of Hugh Barclay Bull." ---
Design and Style
The plate features a heavy embossed border decorated with roses at the four corners. In Victorian floral symbolism (the "language of flowers"), roses on a funerary item generally symbolized love, beauty, and a life cut short, which fits given that Hannah Jane passed away at the relatively young age of 51.
The small holes visible on the far left and right edges are exactly where the screws or tacks would have been driven to secure it to the coffin lid.
It is absolutely incredible that this piece has survived intact with the family's clarifying note for over 150 years!
value? In display cabinet