Iona - Capital Collections

Category

Library Item

Item no

14974

Title

Iona

Description

A funerary procession of kilted men carrying a coffin makes its way past a coastal settlement of crofts towards the ruins of a church and its graveyard. A number of spectators sit on the surrounding rocks and shoreline, while a small crowd of people gather outside another building in ruins. A ship lies just off shore. A group of people watch while a small dingy pulls away from the ship.

Artist / maker

Skene, James

Date

1815

Size

27 x 50 cm

Type

Watercolour

Location

Edinburgh and Scottish Collection

In the distance we see the hills of Mull. The inhabitants of Iona were very poor living in houses "thatched with straw a bear pulled up at the roots", and bound tight on the roof with ropes made of heather. To the left is a sycamore, one of the very few trees on the island. We see a funeral procession making its way to Iona's burial ground Reilig Orain, along the Street of the Dead, where many early Scottish kings are said to be buried.

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Related subjects

Architecture > Monuments > Gravestones

Homes > Derelict buildings and excavation sites > Ruins

Homes > Residential buildings > Crofts

Landscape > Water > Seas

People > Adults > Men

People > Adults > Women

People > Children > Boys

People > Children > Girls