De Roo Oly Molen - gevelsteen (wall stone) Amsterdam 1737. Version 1.2

It is impossible to translate the Dutch word 'gevelsteen'. The catalogue of the Rijksmuseum says 'stone tablets', and it sometimes adds 'from a façade'. Perhaps 'wall stone' is a better translation, although it is still not perfect. But whatever the translations, these stones are always nice works of art.

In old cities, like the Dutch city of Amsterdam,, streets had no names and numbers. If you needed to find someone, you had to know the name of the house. Many houses had special signs: decorative plaques. Many of them reflect the owner's occupation. This 'gevelstenen' were included in the façade of a house, mostly applied above the entrance.

This well known 'gevelsteen' 'De Roo Oly Molen' (The Red Oil Mill) can be found at the address Singel 188 in Amsterdam. It is place below a window, making the white oblong part of the plaque the threshold of the window (see poster 2 and 3).