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A classical column carved snapped off partway up.
Also known as: Snapped column, Broken pillar, Column broken off on a grave
A fluted column with its top broken away. Conventionally read as a life cut short, and one of the motifs where that reading is supported by how it was actually sold: monument catalogues offered it for exactly that purpose.
A classical column shown broken partway up its shaft, conventionally denoting a life cut short — often that of someone who died young or unexpectedly.
19th century especially · Contexts: History
Unusually well supported for a motif reading: monument trade catalogues of the nineteenth century offered the broken column and described what it was for, so the intention is recorded on the seller's side even where the family left no statement.
Also carried a secondary association with the head of a household or family, the column being read as a support that has failed.
Attested chiefly in the popular field-guide literature; treat as commonly said rather than established.
A fluted classical column standing on a square base, its shaft ending in a jagged break partway up instead of a capital.
Both entered monumental sculpture with the neoclassical revival.