LEIDEN, RHIJNLAND
LEIDEN, RHIJNLAND
The houses at Woudrichem (page [117])—inscribed “Iden Salamander 1606” and “Zuden Gulden Engel 1593”—have notable examples of mosaics in the window-heads. Two of the patterns are shown in detail on page [118], together with two others from a house near by. All were achieved by manipulating little shaped pieces of brick to form devices, especially noticeable being the starlike figures with radiating points. Work of a similar kind appears on the house at Zwolle, dated 1609, and illustrated on page [119]. An enlarged drawing of one of the window-heads (page [118]) gives the precise arrangement of the brick and stonework. There is quite a Moorish feeling evident in this design, with the two main portions of inlay enclosed by arch-shaped lines curved horseshoe fashion. The horseshoe arch was essentially a product of Morocco, and the analogy with the East is further strengthened by the fact that mosaic was a medium extensively used by Byzantine and Saracenic artists. These circumstances all suggest the origin of the employment of such work in Holland.
AMSTERDAM, NORTH HOLLAND
On page [118] is represented a small section of the horizontal mosaic band that appears over the archway at Nijmegen (page [41]). Simpler patterns were also formed with ordinary narrow bricks and mortar. Two examples are here given, both carried out in red and yellow bricks,—a frieze at the first storey level of a house at Workum and shaped spaces from Franeker (page [120]).
Turning to external metalwork the most characteristic objects are the iron wall-ties. They were applied to walls to give them stability. But the possibilities for artistic treatment which the wall-ties offered were by no means overlooked, as is demonstrated by the many and varied forms produced by the blacksmiths, who regarded these accessories, before all things, as the particular field for the display of their skill. Endless varieties are to be found, certain patterns being local to specific districts. Upon ordinary houses—and they were practically invariably used—they are usually no more elaborate than might be achieved by direct work on the anvil; of honest but unambitious appearance and shaped in simple ways, such as are shown by the illustrations on page [121]. But the wall-ties of more important buildings are often complicated affairs; beautiful examples of design and craftsmanship which were wrought with labour. They are rich in scrolls and curves with foliated ornament, and one of the examples here given (page [123]) has the date of 1798 worked within it. Iron letters and figures also decorate the fronts of many houses. Each is detached and secured to the wall by a single stay. They are arranged to denote dates or monograms. An example has already been seen at the base of a gable at Middelburg (page [35]); another specimen, from St. Anna, near Nijmegen, is reproduced on page [122].
WOOD DETAILS FROM GELDERLAND AND SOUTH HOLLAND