Selecting Mausoleum Crypt Plates: Materials, Designs & Inscription Options
- At May 02, 2025
- By Lin McLeod
- In General Information, Mausoleumpedia
0
Every detail matters when honoring a loved one’s legacy. For example, selecting the right mausoleum crypt plate is one of those meaningful decisions. It’s more than a nameplate—it’s a permanent tribute reflecting a well-lived life. Whether planning ahead or making arrangements after a loss, this guide will walk you through the most important considerations when choosing a crypt plate, including materials, design elements, and inscription options.
The Basics: Mausoleum Crypt Plates
- Crypt plates serve as lasting memorials, often made from bronze, granite, or stainless steel, and are used to honor those buried or placed in a columbarium or niche.
- Families can personalize plates with relief artwork, portraits, and emblems—suitable for both cremated remains and traditional interments.
- Inscriptions typically include the full name, dates, and a short epitaph, with various font and finish options available for bronze markers and plaques.
- It’s important to ensure the plate complements the overall mausoleum site.
What Is a Crypt Plate?
A crypt plate—also called a crypt marker or nameplate—is the panel affixed to the front of a mausoleum niche or crypt. It identifies the individual entombed or buried within and typically features their name, birth and death dates, and a short epitaph or symbolic design. These plaques may be made from bronze, metal, or stone and are often attached to the exterior of the crypt or columbarium.
Crypt plates serve a dual purpose: they preserve identity and provide a beautiful and respectful tribute to the remains of a loved one.
Selecting Mausoleum Crypt Plates: Materials, Designs & Inscription Options
Choosing the right crypt plate is integral to planning or personalizing a mausoleum. Families often seek clarity in the process, and this guide will answer the most common questions surrounding materials, designs, and inscription choices.
1. Crypt plate materials
Durability, appearance, and compatibility with the mausoleum structure are key when choosing the material for a crypt plate. Common options include the following:
- Bronze: Known for its elegance and longevity, bronze crypt plaques offer timeless beauty. They are corrosion-resistant and ideal for private mausoleums or columbarium fronts.
- Stainless Steel: Sleek and modern, stainless steel works well in minimalist or contemporary mausoleum designs.
- Granite: Often used for shutter-style crypts or full-front designs, granite pairs well with matching headstones or mausoleum facades.
2. Design options for personalization
A well-designed crypt plate should reflect the individual’s legacy, beliefs, and personality. Popular design elements include the following:
- Relief Artwork: Raised details like borders, angels, doves, or flowers add depth to bronze markers or niche plaques.
- Portraits: Laser-etched or bronze-framed images can create a more personal, visual connection to your loved one.
- Emblems: Military medallions, fraternal insignias, or religious symbols can be included to honor service or values.
Design elements can be included in plaques accompanying cremated remains in a niche or traditional full-body interments.
3. Inscription styles and options
Inscriptions turn a nameplate into a heartfelt tribute. Key elements include:
- Basic Information: Full name, birth and death dates, and sometimes a maiden name or middle initial.
- Epitaphs: Short messages such as “Forever Loved” or spiritual quotes reflect emotional sentiment and meaning.
- Fonts and Finishes: Choose serif, script, or modern fonts with finishes ranging from polished to antique, particularly for bronze plaques or niche markers.
Helpful Tips for Choosing a Crypt Plate
- Confirm Requirements: Always obtain approval from the cemetery or columbarium before ordering. Some sites have specific size or material requirements for plaques and markers. Of course, this is not necessary if you’re constructing a private family mausoleum.
- Plan Ahead: Preplanning gives families peace of mind and allows for thoughtful customization.
- Coordinate with the Mausoleum: Make sure your bronze crypt plaque, niche plaque, or stone engraving aligns with the overall aesthetic of the mausoleum or burial site.
A Tribute That Stands the Test of Time
A mausoleum crypt plate is more than a marker—it’s a legacy in bronze, steel, or stone. Whether you’re commemorating cremated remains in a niche or honoring a loved one buried in a private crypt, your design should offer a sense of permanence, elegance, and emotional connection.
At Eternal Mausoleums by Forever Legacy, we specialize in designing and building custom mausoleums where every detail—down to the plaque—is a lasting expression of love. Contact us to begin creating a mausoleum that honors your family’s story for generations to come.
What’s the Difference Between a Mausoleum and a Memorial?
- At September 04, 2013
- By mausoleum
- In General Information
- 0
When considering how to commemorate the life of a loved one, a family may contemplate a mausoleum, a memorial, or another commemorative structure. The terms can get confusing, though, so what’s the difference between a mausoleum and a memorial?
Read More»Uniquely Funerary: Pierd’Houy Family Mausoleum
- At March 28, 2013
- By Doug Keister
- In Doug Keister's Blog
- 0
When I was photographing and researching my first cemetery book, Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity, I kept coming across mausoleums that didn’t neatly fit into any definite architectural style. These eclectic mausoleums might have some Gothic spires, Classical Revival columns, and Egyptian symbolism. I started to call this odd and sometimes wonderfully whimsical architecture “Uniquely Funerary”. You just aren’t likely to find this style of architecture anywhere else but a cemetery, or perhaps a fanciful theme park. Indeed, Uniquely Funerary mausoleums and funerary structures are a triumph of form over function. They may be thought of as a delightful marriage of sculpture and architecture.
Read More»The Mausoleum Enters the Twenty First Century
- At March 27, 2013
- By Doug Keister
- In Doug Keister's Blog
- 0
When I first began photographing mausoleums for my book Going Out in Style: The Architecture of Eternity in 1997, my primary focus was documenting historic mausoleums, mostly from the late nineteenth century. After all, my background was in photographing historic architecture (mostly Victorian and Arts and Crafts homes). Mausoleums were simply another type of historic residential architecture.
Almost every architectural or design style eventually makes it into the cemetery. When Napoleon invaded Egypt with both soldiers and artists, it triggered a phenomenon that became known as Egyptian Revival architecture thanks mostly to a French book of drawings by Napoleon’s artists, Description de l’Égypte, published in 1809. Egyptian Revival was, of course, the perfect architectural style for cemeteries and mausoleums since almost all Egyptian architecture had something to do with death and the afterlife.
The same can be said for Gothic Revival churches, Greek temples, and Art Deco theaters. All of those styles eventually made it into the cemetery in the form of mausoleums and other monuments.
Read More»The Human Cost of Early Mausolea
- At August 13, 2015
- By mausoleum
- In Mausoleum Design
- 0
A story came to light earlier this week of a massive find of more than 10,000 skeletons in what is being called the “criminal tombs”, dating back to about 202 BC, during the Chinese Han Dynasty. The name given this macabre find refers to the fact that many of the skeletal remains are bound by shackles and fetters.
As explained at this week’s Symposium for Research on Hanyang Mausoleum and Han Culture, the many remains were of prisoners who had been forced to build the Hanyang Mausoleum, and the tomb where Hanjingdi Liu Qi (188 – 141 DC), the fourth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty, and his wife are buried. There had been reports of an archaeological find of many prisoners as far back as 1972, but that excavation was more than a mile from this most recent discovery.
Read More»
