Scythe Collection

The Harvesters, 1565. Creator: Pieter Bruegel the Elder
The Harvesters, 1565

Vita Sackville-West

Feudal lord instructing peasant workers
Peasants receiving their lords orders before going to work, 1400s. Hand-colored 19th-century woodcut reproduction of a manuscript miniature illustration

Death personified on a Tarot card
Death personified as a skeleton with a scythe on a Tarot card

Tarot Card 13 - La Mort (Death)

DORE: THE RAVEN, 1882. Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before
DOR: THE RAVEN, 1882. Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before... Engraving by Gustave Dor, 1882, for an 1884 edition of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

The Dance of Death (fresco)
BAL63057 The Dance of Death (fresco) by Kastav, Janez (fl.c.1490); Church of the Holy Trinity, Hrastovlje, Slovenia; out of copyright

Harvesters camp at Weasenham, Norfolk, where schoolmasters and clergymen are helping with the harvest. organised by Rev. Gough McCormick vicar of St Michaels Chester Square

PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 1880. Farmer Garfield Cutting a Swath to the White House. James Garfield as the 1880 Republican Party candidate for President on a lithograph poster by Currier & Ives, 1880

The Farming Year by Pauline Baynes
The Farming Year, painted in the style of a medieval stained glass window by Pauline Baynes, showing the agricultural activities of a farmer of the Middle Ages month by month

Allegory of the Plague in Manchuria, cover illustration of Le Petit Journal
CHT219325 Allegory of the Plague in Manchuria, cover illustration of Le Petit Journal, 19th February 1911 (colour litho) by French School

Noon, or The Siesta, after Millet, 1890 (oil on canvas)
XIR33780 Noon, or The Siesta, after Millet, 1890 (oil on canvas) by Gogh, Vincent van (1853-90); 73x91 cm; Musee d Orsay, Paris, France; (add.info.: La Meridienne ou La Sieste; ); Dutch

Scything the Hay
Four men scythe hay into rows : a woman brings their lunch

Draycott, Cotswold vllage, Oldborough Farm, men and scythes
Draycott, Cotswold village, Oldborough Farm, five men in field with scythes. Date: circa 1920

Caesar, 1875 (oil on canvas)
XIR148813 Caesar, 1875 (oil on canvas) by Yvon, Adolphe (1817-93); 101x168.8 cm; Musee des Beaux-Arts, Arras, France; French, out of copyright

Detail of the Dance of Death fresco dating from 1475, Chapel of Our Lady of the Rocks, Beram, Istria, Croatia, Europe

Harvest workers, Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, South Wales
Harvest workers in a field above the town of Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, South Wales

Fable / Old Man & Death
THE OLD MAN & DEATH An old man, exhausted gathering sticks, calls for Death to take him; immediately Death appears, and the man regrets what he wished for

Battle of Maciejowice
The Russians and Prussians defeat the leader of the insurrection, Kosciuszko, and his forces at the battle of Maciejowice

July - the Chateau at Poitiers, 15th century, (1939). Creator: Paul Limbourg
July - the Chateau at Poitiers, 15th century, (1939). Juillet - Le Chateau De Poitiers. Farm workers harvesting wheat with scythes and shearing sheep

June - the palace and the Sainte-Chapelle, 15th century, (1939). Creators: Hermann Limbourg
June - the palace and the Sainte-Chapelle, 15th century, (1939). Juin - Le Palais Et La Sainte-Chapelle. Barefoot peasants hay-making in the fields: men wield scythes as they cut the grass

Time smoking a Picture, 1761 (engraving)
XJF400614 Time smoking a Picture, 1761 (engraving) by Hogarth, William (1697-1764); Private Collection; (add.info.: subscription ticket for Sigismonda; ); English, out of copyright

Farm workers in Farningham load hay on to the trailer being pulled by a tractor. 1935

REGULATORS REVOLT, 1771. Attempt to Pacify the Regulators. Edmund Fanning (far right)
REGULATORS REVOLT, 1771. Attempt to Pacify the Regulators. Edmund Fanning (far right, on opposite shore) attempting to pacify the Regulators, led by Ninian Bell Hamilton

Kinchley Hill and Brazil Wood, Swithland, Leicestershire
Sketch of granite rocks at Kinchley Hill and Brazil Wood, Swithland, Leicestershire, by Reverend Baden Powell (1796-1860), father of Robert Baden Powell. 1859

The Confession: Otto Von Bismarck (1815-98) with Death, from Le Petit Journal
XIR246062 The Confession: Otto Von Bismarck (1815-98) with Death, from Le Petit Journal, 17th December 1892 (colour litho) by Meaulle, Fortune Louis (1844-1901) & Meyer

Freedom or Death, 1794-95 (oil on canvas)
XKH150800 Freedom or Death, 1794-95 (oil on canvas) by Regnault, Jean-Baptiste (1754-1829); 60x49.3 cm; Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany; French, out of copyright

Summer (colour litho)
8633260 Summer (colour litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Summer. Illustration for The Children's Object Book (Frederick Warne)

8626017

An Autumn Morning: The Reaper...A Man with a Scythe, 1885 (oil on canvas)
8835614 An Autumn Morning: The Reaper...A Man with a Scythe, 1885 (oil on canvas) by Barclay, Edgar (1842-1913); Bourne Gallery, Reigate, Surrey, UK; (add.info.: EDGAR BARCLAY, ROI. RE. (British)

Reaping with the Hainault scythe
6266206 Reaping with the Hainault scythe; (add.info.: Reaping with the Hainault scythe. From The Book of the Farm by Scottish farmer and agriculturalist Henry Stephens, 1795-1874)

Summer (colour litho)
8633181 Summer (colour litho) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Summer. Illustration for The Children's Object Book (Frederick Warne)

There was an Old Person of Blythe, who cut up his Meat with a Scythe (coloured engraving)
8634395 There was an Old Person of Blythe, who cut up his Meat with a Scythe (coloured engraving) by Lear, Edward (1812-88) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: There was an Old Person of Blythe)

Anglo Saxon agriculture: four-wheel wagon 107, two-wheel wagon 108, plough 109, shovel, scythe and hammer 110, sickle
FLO4702412 Anglo Saxon agriculture: four-wheel wagon 107, two-wheel wagon 108, plough 109, shovel, scythe and hammer 110, sickle, rake and fork 111, harvest cart 112

Summer, 14th century (fresco)
8683333 Summer, 14th century (fresco) by Bindoccio, Cristoforo di & Piero, Meo di (14th century); Museo di palazzo Corboli (Museo civico archeologico e d'arte sacra), Asciano, Tuscany

A harvest scene in rural France
3740749 A harvest scene in rural France; (add.info.: Painting depicting a harvest scene with a large amount of wheat being unstacked ready for Winter threshing in rural France)

Mediaeval line drawing of death with a bow and scythe
1578294 Mediaeval line drawing of death with a bow and scythe; (add.info.: Mediaeval line drawing of death with a bow and scythe. Dated 13th Century); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Medieval agricultural tools (engraving)
8672989 Medieval agricultural tools (engraving) by Swiss School, (19th Century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Medieval agricultural tools)

Time (engraving)
8634856 Time (engraving) by English School, (19th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: Time. Illustration for Good Words for 1870.); © Look and Learn.

An engraving depicting Old Father Time with his scythe and hourglass, 19th century
5311222 An engraving depicting Old Father Time with his scythe and hourglass, 19th century; (add.info.: Date: 1891); Universal History Archive/UIG.

Fetal skeleton at six months with scythe 1, at three months 2 and at ten weeks 3
FLO4565763 Fetal skeleton at six months with scythe 1, at three months 2 and at ten weeks 3. Copperplate engraving by Edward Mitchell after an anatomical illustration by Jean-Joseph Sue from John

Death, in the form of time, 1850
3478617 Death, in the form of time, 1850; (add.info.: Illustration depicting death, in the form of time with his scythe, coming on the old woodcutter)

The Implement Gate, New Mill, Tring (b/w photo)
8634504 The Implement Gate, New Mill, Tring (b/w photo) by English Photographer, (20th century); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Implement Gate, New Mill, Tring. Photo credit: C A Howlett)

Death (engraving)
8672824 Death (engraving) by Robida, Albert (1848-1926); Private Collection; (add.info.: Death. Illustration from Histoire de France Tintamarresque, by Touchatout (Librairie des Ouvrages Illustrees)

The Way to Victory (colour litho)
8663328 The Way to Victory (colour litho) by Hudson, Gwynedd M. (1882-1932); Private Collection; (add.info.: The Way to Victory. Work is one of the best blessings of this World)

Lounge, Preach, Scales, School, Scrape, Screen, Scroll, Scythe, Shears, Sheath, Shield, Sketch (engraving)
8650026 Lounge, Preach, Scales, School, Scrape, Screen, Scroll, Scythe, Shears, Sheath, Shield, Sketch (engraving) by German School, (19th century) (after); Private Collection; (add.info.: Lounge)

A couple of peasants arm in arm moving down a country path. A windmill can be seen on the right
3570975 A couple of peasants arm in arm moving down a country path. A windmill can be seen on the right; (add.info.: 1885-1890 ca. Photographer: Robinson, Ralph W.); Alinari Archives, Florence.

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"The Scythe: A Timeless Symbol of Harvest, Death, and Labor" Throughout history, the scythe has played a significant role in various aspects of human existence. In Pieter Bruegel the Elder's masterpiece "The Harvesters" from 1565, we witness feudal lords instructing peasant workers as they wield their scythes with precision and determination. This iconic painting captures the essence of laborious agricultural practices that have shaped societies for centuries. Symbolically, death personified on a Tarot card often wields a scythe, reminding us of life's transient nature and inevitable end. The image resonates with both fear and acceptance as we contemplate our mortality. In Winslow Homer's "The Veteran in a New Field, " painted in 1865, an American farmer stands tall amidst golden wheat fields armed with his trusty scythe. This poignant portrayal signifies resilience after war while emphasizing the vital role agriculture plays in rebuilding nations. From Draycott village to Oldborough Farm in Cotswold, men equipped with scythes have tirelessly worked to ensure bountiful harvests throughout generations. Vita Sackville-West eloquently captured this timeless scene at Kinchley Hill and Brazil Wood in Leicestershire where men skillfully maneuvered their tools through fields teeming with life. Not limited to rural settings alone, even schoolmasters and clergymen joined forces during harvest time at Weasenham camp in Norfolk. Their collaboration exemplifies unity within communities when it comes to reaping nature's rewards. Pauline Baynes' enchanting illustrations depict scenes from "The Farming Year, " showcasing farmers diligently using their scythes across seasons – sowing seeds under spring sun or harvesting crops beneath autumnal skies. These images remind us of the cyclical nature of farming intertwined with human existence itself. Beyond its practical use lies deeper symbolism; tarot card number thirteen - La Mort (Death).