Chrysanthemums and Pink Lilies in a Glass Vase, Lafayette Cemetery, New Orleans
Found still life photograph at Lafayette Cemetery No 1 in the Garden District of New Orleans. Lilies are symbolic of innocence and purity based on being the flower of the goddess Hera, who took on those attributes in the Greek pantheon. The flower is also emblematic of the Virgin Mary, representing her virginity and purity. In funerals, the lily, due to its religious associations, expresses a desire that the departed has received restored innocence after death. The chrysanthemums, symbolic of death from the French and Spanish cultural roots of New Orleans, are frequently used at gravesites to convey lamentation and grief. Ironically, even though the flowers are cloth, they are placed in a vase filled with water.