Face of an angel

From a distance, I decided that this gravestone was for a child because the angel’s face looks young, cherub-like.

Instead, it stands at the grave of a young, adult woman, Charlotte Danforth (d. 1858).

CHARLOTTE
WIFE OF
A DANFORTH
DIED
AUG 11 1858
AGED
33 Y
Honestly, I am not sure how to classify the carving on this gravestone. Is it an angel? Is it a winged face (soul effigy)?

The wings are not attached to the face, and I am going to take that literally and suggest that this is not a winged face. It is not a typical one, at any rate. Nor is the age of the gravestone typical for winged faces. Awfully “new.”

In fact, the wings are not attached to anything.

No matter how we classify or interpret this face, one thing is certain: It is a lovely face.

West Rushville Cemetery, Fairfield County, Ohio