Conclusion
When I started this project, I wanted to provide a contribution to the reburial of Captain Flinders. An individual I had helped find and archaeologically excavate.
However, I also hoped to revive an obscure part of the past. Very few people appreciate how different and striking coffins used to be.
Although each was a small artwork, they were all destined to have only a fleeting time on display before burial.
Photo Paul Braham
It took several weeks to finish, but I’m confident that an early 19th century undertaker would not be able to tell the difference between his work and my finished replica.
Hopefully, the coffin will be a fitting tribute this summer when it returns an eighteen-century British explorer home to rest with his ancestors.
References Ernest, S. (2011 (1914)) The Life Captain Matthew Flinders, Cambridge University Press. Litten, J. (1991) The English way of death, London