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[Garath]

One time half the engravings and statues in the whole fort were of worms. 4 different people had decided to piss off the mayor. Only in Dwarf Fortress, I guess

[Steb]

Not one of mine, but one I always remember, was "The dwarf is striking a menacing pose, the elf is cowering in terror. This artwork relates to the tearing off of the fifth toe, right foot of the elf Blah by the dwarf Flah"
This was a friend's fort. His military were all elite wrestlers in steel plate. He'd deforested the entire map to get fuel for smelting and the elves were not pleased. This proud moment of the many resulting battles was plastered all over the fortress.

[Nyxalinth]

My personal favorite is when the dwarf makes a statue of himself admiring a statue of himself.

Yo dawg, I heard you like yourself, so here's a statue of you admiring you admiring yourself.

[SixOfSpades]

You must have abandoned a past fortress.

If it wasn't for the obvious 'Builder' nickname, I'd say, "Not necessarily." I've had non-fortress dwarves show up in my engravings, liking and disliking things like any other dwarf, and it took me quite a while to discover that those individuals were actually part of the nobility of my current civilization.

[CyberUrist]

Now this is from when my first farmer (embark, because he has a nick) got a mood and became melancholy, he almost died of starvation but he died of dehydration first. None were sad.

[bluea]

I have 200+  statues by four different guys that focus on a long, long list of -different- Yetis being killed by different elves. It's so embarrassing.

Putting the Depot and some mason's workshops nearby and firing up the magma.

[Scruffy]

Usually my forts are pretty bloody, so the engravings  are full of death and decay but in my current one around 20% of them are pictures of elves taming bobcats. There is also one picture of the engraver being surrounded by hamsters, the mayor embracing 2 goats and my dead militia commander being surrounded by mosquitos and being terrified.  The rest are just pictures of dwarves rising from the dead or killing someone.

By the way, do you ever read your memorial slabs? There was one dwarf who was a "lover of giant wombats" and got "killed by a zombie wombat". Also, it seems like 2 of my dwarves got killed by goblins wielding pigtail undergarments.

[saltmummy626]

I remember in the vague past an image of a dwarf embracing two twilight freaks. ive got the screen shot somewhere...

also another fort where the only images I could get were modded in sand worms killing hundreds of dwarves, humans, and elves. also anything else the things found in the desert. really should not have used VCC for the base body and stats.

[Panando]

I once fired an engraver. I can't remember everything he did, but I do remember he engraved a square, and he engraved an image of a muck root, and he engraved images of the militia commander (the fortresses best dwarf) being released from the position of expedition leader.

[snoopychicken]

This thread will be for both the sharing and figuring out the meaning of the cryptic engravings on all of our walls. For example, engraved on one of my walls is

Now, who the heck is 'Builder' Confusebolted? He's not in my fortress. The guy who engraved it is named 'Builder' Shadmalal(weird a)th, as you can see in the image. And why is Confusebolted hugging 2 sparrows and not making a +sparrow roast+ out of them, for my fortress (or his fortress, whatever) to devour? This sort of thing is something to be figured out, so let us be dwarven Sigmund Freuds!

Sparrows are believe by many cultures to be psychopomps - spirits that guide the dead to the afterlife.
Maybe it's an old friend dying and peacefully going off to dwarven heaven. 

[Mr S]

Current fortress, first Masterwork statue was of the Expedition Leader who became the first Mayor being relieved of office when a more socially adept Immigrant got elected next time around.  I keep that statue above the headboard of the current mayor's bed, just to keep him on his toes.

[CyberUrist]

This image actually relates to the mass-murdering of my fortress. I am currently playing a reclaimed game.

What we've gathered so far about engravings (this one included) :

• Engravings will often sport things that the engraver personally likes or dislikes.
• Engravings in the rooms of other dwarves will sometimes feature objects that the dwarf detests if the engraver has a grudge against him. Presumably vice versa.
• In engravings, usually plaintive gestures and menacing poses will often go hand in hand, usually because the artwork relates to the mortal injuring of, say, a dwarf from a goblin. Plaintive gestures presumably will also go with depression and bad conditions.
• Sometimes there will be pictures of one dwarf cringing and another one laughing. These usually relate to non-fatal injuries, such as the laughing dwarf laughing because he has injured the toe of the cringing dwarf.
• A lot of engravings will be the symbols of local governments.
• If an engraving is not about a historical, recent or general event, it will usually be images of shapes, items, creatures, sometimes making gestures or poses.

[Veylon]

I don't know if this counts, but I had a civilization once where one side of their coins with the image of their king being removed from office. It's like if we decided that the back of every coin ought to have Nixon being impeached on it.

[Loud Whispers]

My dwarves are getting increasingly symbolic.

[CyberUrist]

Sorry for necro, I just had to share this recent masterwork engraving. You see, I needed a broker with appraisal skill, so I replaced my old one. Then they made this. Mosus Brightpaint was my old broker.