This colourful gable stone on the wall of one of the buildings in the narrow St Jansstraat in Deventer (the alley I showed you yesterday) pictures a lady looking out of a window, and it refers to the presence of prostitution at this location in the past (presumably). I mentioned yesterday that Deventer is one of the oldest cities in our country, however this gable stone is rather 'new' as it was made by sculptor Ton Mooy (1948).
The poetic lines are by J.C. van Schagen (1891-1985), a Dutch poet who died in Deventer. The lines "
eens halve kous heet nu St. Jan / maar wat er bleef dat af en an... / wat ik u brom u keert weerom" are really difficult to translate as the first two are hard to understand for me even in Dutch. The bottom line however ("
let me tell you, you will return") apparently refers to the fact that the St Jansstraat is a dead-end street.
Mooie gevelsteen erg modern.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenIk denk dat de steeg eerst misschien "Halve kous" heette en nu St. Jan, maar dat de prostitutie er evengoed doorging...
BeantwoordenVerwijderenHeel leuk gedaan.
I'm not surprised that the woman described this (so you too :). I knew that it was something funny. The idea of prostitution is not nice, but the picture is lovely.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenA profession that is much older than the City Of Deventer.
BeantwoordenVerwijderenNice window, but the woman looks a little bored...
BeantwoordenVerwijderenInteresting no doubt, thanks for sharing!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenA funny little riddle! Love finding things like this. :)
BeantwoordenVerwijderenWell now that really stands out!
BeantwoordenVerwijderenUnusual and lovely!
BeantwoordenVerwijderen