Scythe

"To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted . . ." Ecclesastes 3:1-2

Representations of the anthropomorphised Death usually depict him bearing a scythe. The harvesting of crops, of course, kills the plant, and is done shortly before the autumnal death of the sun and earth, so the two (the harvest and death) have been linked since the advent of agriculture. Death, in many cultures, represents not finality, but change and the cyclical nature of life. Thus the two-legged Death is the Grim Reaper, and carries his symbol of change. I thought it fitting that this old scythe be the bearer of the Preacher's millennia-old message of the Eternal ebb and flow.

I engraved the scythe blade with the line from Ecclesiastes using a diamond rotary bit. The blade is unchanged beyond the inscription. The hanger is made from cedar, and both scythe blade and hanger have only a coating of paste wax on them. The board, though plain, serves its purpose of allowing wall-mounting, and may be the subject of future embellishment . . .

Created by Sean Corron, April 2, 2011.