Antique Cast Iron French Grave Markers

100+ year old French cast iron grave markers available in the boutique right now.

Graves in France, along with most of Europe, were leased for 99 years. If, at the end of that time, no one to picked up the lease, all grave decoration was removed and auctioned off. Remains are then put in ossuaries. It's similar today, though most grave leases average a few decades, with longer options available. In the USA, we are just starting to grapple with these notions...

The American version of death is far more of an abstract, afterlife thing, somehow tied to preservation of remains... But the industry is facing the realities of more educated, green consumers, who know there is no "preserved forever" in a "water tight" casket. We as a society no longer gather at gravesites for holidays, nor picnic in cemeteries. Other practical matters include a lower interest in tradition organized religions and land use on a heavily populated planet. The industry must change.

Truly antique pieces like this are not only hauntingly beautiful, well crafted memento mori, but touchstones for the times, and reminders that the living continues.

Fragments such as this are becoming more difficult to find and I am proud to offer such rarities at the boutique. I believe they also serve as solid examples of why the boutique deserves your vote for Best Antique Store in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Thank you