Ketaus kryžius su signatūra senosiose Zapyškio kapinėse
Cast-Iron Cross With Signature in the Old Zapyškis Cemetery

Summary/Abstract: The article presents the research initiated by chance, during which a manufacturer of the cast-iron cross, characteristic of the mid- or late 19th-century style, was discovered. The cross stood in the old Zapyškis cemetery, mounted on a natural stone pedestal. It is special because of a small detail, the manufacturer’s signature. At the beginning of the research, only a fragment of the cross was uncovered. Its lower part bore a mark of a two-sided signature on 30×20 mm with an oval rim: “C A. Ковно.” The unknown signature prompted a more thorough study of this sepulchral artefact, including its location, condition, and manufacturer. Later, a missing part of the cross with an epitaph was found in the cemetery chapel, from which the name of the deceased, the year of his death and the approximate year of birth were established. In subsequent historical research, this information enabled the deciphering of the signature’s meaning. It restored the memory of Stanislovas Abramovičius (Stanisław Abramowicz), a military officer punished by the tsarist authorities, a little-known founder of the Kaunas metal factory Mars, and a nobleman who was briefly in charge of the factory.

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