A tomb effigy is a sculpted effigy of a deceased person usually shown lying recumbent on a rectangular slab, presented in full ceremonious dress or wrapped in a shroud, and shown either dying or shortly after death. Although such funerary and commemorative reliefs were first developed in Ancient Egyptian and Etruscan cultures, they appear most numerously in Western Europe tombs from the later 11th century, in a style that continued in use through the Renaissance and early modern period, and are still sometimes used. They typically represent the deceased in a state of "eternal repose", with hands folded in prayer, lying on a pillow, awaiting resurrection. A husband and wife may be depicted lying side by side.
Double tomb of Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) and Isabella of Angoulême. Fontevraud Abbey, Anjou, France
Effigies of Henry II of France and Catherine de' Medici, c. 1561–1573. Basilica of Saint-Denis, France
Limestone Ka statue of Djoser from his pyramid serdab. 27th century BC
Coffin of Neskhons, c. 945-715 BC, Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio
An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain traditions around New Year, Carnival and Easter. In European cultures, effigies were used in the past for punishment in formal justice when the perpetrator could not be apprehended, and in popular justice practices of social shaming and exclusion. Additionally, "effigy" is used for certain traditional forms of sculpture, namely tomb effigies, funeral effigies and coin effigies.
Burning of Judas Iscariot, Brazil, 1909
Effigy of Ravana, a figure from the Ramayana, with burning sparklers, in Manchester, England, in 2006
Double tomb effigies or gisants, Josselin, Brittany, France; 15th century
A rare wax funerary effigy of a private person, who stipulated it be made in her will, England, 1744. Holy Trinity Church, Stow Bardolph, Norfolk.