Cow Head Gable on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal Painting

The Oudezijds Voorburgwal is one of my most favourite canals in all of Amsterdam. This fondness is in no small part due to familiarity. I have a relative who has a beautiful apartment overlooking this street with whom I have stayed on many occasions. This accommodation has provided me with a secure base from which to explore the spider’s web of streets, passages and canals over the past few decades. Over time, this street has become so familiar to me that, to this day, it is my fixed reference point in the city, the datum point from which I measure all others, and it is in fact from where I commence my present day explorations. I did not have to stray too far from ground zero in order to find this perfect example of Amsterdam’s more unusual architectural embellishments. I love the dutch flair when it comes to decoration, it is bold, fluid and unselfconscious. I also adore how the theme of the decor reflects the buildings’ original use or the aspirations of the commissioning merchant. There is, of course, a practical signposting function elemental to this practice of linking function to form, but, in my opinion, they are much more likely a jubilant celebration of their owners chosen branch of business as these ostentatious cake-toppers positively reek with the pride of their owners. The casual observer may be given to speculate as to the exact nature of what must have been some kind of bovine emporium. But the more keen eyed may have gleaned that the central figure, within this disturbing tableau, is wearing his severed feet as grotesque earrings tucked amongst the swags and tails. This detail, coupled with the cow shaped and sized central doors, leads me to believe that this was, in its first iteration, an abattoir or meat market.