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Two tools carved crossed in saltire, marking a trade.
Also known as: Crossed implements, Two tools crossed on a grave
Two implements laid across one another in an X. The commonest way a trade is shown on a monument, and the arrangement itself is a convention borrowed from heraldry rather than a depiction of how tools are used.
Two tools of a trade carved crossed diagonally over one another, the standard arrangement for showing an occupation on a monument.
Contexts: History
The crossed arrangement is a convention borrowed from heraldic practice, where charges are frequently borne in saltire, rather than a representation of how the tools are held or used.
Which tools are crossed is what identifies the trade: hammer and pincers for a blacksmith, mallet and chisel for a mason, pick and shovel for a miner. The pairing carries the information, not the crossing.
Two tools carved lying across one another in an X, handles downward and heads uppermost.
Crossed tools are the commonest occupational carving and carry the same interpretive caution.