Images of death : a survey of the ledger stones, of the period between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries, found in Valletta, Mdina and Rabat, Malta

Abstract

This long essay attempts to survey the burial ledger stones produced in the period between the sixteenth and early nineteenth centuries in Valletta, Mdina and Rabat, Malta. The aim of this research is to provide a proper analysis of the images of death from a selection of ledger stones of different artistic trends: Late Medieval to Neoclassicism. The number of ledger stones from this period is high since it coincides with the most flourishing period for the arts in Malta, and the amount of tomb slabs rise to about a thousand. Thus, it was impossible to bring together all the ledger stones present in the important -Ecclesiastical and civil buildings in these major cities, and a selection had to be made. This work would not have been possible without research carried out by previous art historians. However, apart from a few exceptions, none of these revealing texts explore exclusively the imagery on ledger stones and thus lack a detailed and total assessment of the works in question. I shall attempt to present the evolution of the symbols that decorate these memorial slabs which echo the contemporary approach to death, reflect the philosophical ideas of the time and present them in the existing artistic trends. For this purpose a discussion of the current philosophy of death is necessary, underlining the change that the Counter Reformation has brought about. Throughout, I shall illustrate how these sepulchral slabs: the medium used (globigerina limestone and marble), the imagery and the location - reveal a lot of information not only on the status of the defunct but also on the significance of the churches in which the memorial stones lie. Moreover, these ledger stones give a clear idea of the social, political, and cultural situation of Malta at the time. Such an approach shall portray the impact of the arrival of the Hierosylamitan Hospitaller Knights of St John in Malta. I shall try to show how the shift from the exclusive use of pure white marble to the inclusion of rare polychromized marbles coincided with the air of exuberance felt with the arrival of the Baroque. This study is principally concerned with a critical assessment of only a representative selection of ledger stones present in the more significant churches, from the various art historical periods and by no means intends to be an exhaustive catalogue of all the ledger stones in Malta during these centuries.