The artist is unknown, but it was given in loving memory of Genevieve Keith Funston (1889-1973) by her son, G. Keith Funston, who was the president of the New York Stock Exchange from 1951 - 1957 and past president of Trinity College.  The symbols of this carving give us many meditation options.  Let’s start with the lamb carrying the cross.

The Holy Lamb is the symbolic representation of Christ from an early stage. Christ shown in human person was depicted and first appeared in a Vatican cross in the sixth century, however until then the figure of a Lamb carrying a cross and standing on a mount was the sign of Christ crucified. 

The Butterfly is a symbol of the resurrection.  In the bible, it is written that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new creation.  The same God who takes a caterpillar and changes it into a butterfly, transforms sinners into saints. 

Alpha and Omega, in Christianity, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, used to designate the comprehensiveness of God, implying that God includes all that can be. In the New Testament Revelation to John, the term is used as the self-designation of God and of Christ.

In Christianity, the Sign of the Dove was a sign by which John the Baptist recognized the Messiah Jesus Christ. All Four Gospels each record an account of the sign of the dove descending on Jesus as a symbol of the holy spirit.  God's voice is heard saying “This is my own dear son with whom I am pleased.” This confirms Jesus' identity as the Son of God. The crowds of people standing on the banks of the River Jordan will know for certain that this is the greater person John has been telling them about.

In Christian symbolism, the RED rose stands for the blood shed by Jesus on the CROSS; it has also become a symbol for earthly love, a tradition which continues today.

The grapevine is a productive plant. A solitary plant can bear numerous grapes. In the Old Testament, grapes represented Israel's productivity (fruitfulness) in tackling God's job on earth (Psalm 80:8; Isaiah 5:1-7).

If we look at this panel as a poem or hieroglyphics telling a story, it seems Mr. Funston wanted his mother to be remembered as a beloved woman in Christ’s resurrection and all she did at Christ Church to help “tackle God’s job here on earth.”