Epiphany

A very well-known biblical scene from the New Testament: the adoration by the Magi Kings of the  Orient.
In literature this scene is constantly linked to the craft of baking. The connection can be found in an old custom. Bakers used to offer their customers a so-called king cake on 6 January, the feast of the three Magi kings. This custom still exists, although nowadays customers have to pay for the cake. This cake should contain a bean, and the one who finds the bean in his piece of cake is king. According to the rules of the family, the lucky person has the right to lay down the law for the rest of the day or has to treat the others. In the latter case, there is usually no bean.
Originally, the meeting place of the bakers' craft was located in the house "Epiphany" (St. Jorisstraat, now Grote Staat), situated between "The rose orchard" and "The star". Later a house in  Koestraat was referred to as the "bakers' meeting place".
Just like five other "Epiphany" houses in Maastricht, the building Platielstraat 10 had nothing to do with the bakers' trade. From the choice of house name and gable stone in 1714, this building was a pharmacy for a very long time. The owner was one of the most important families, Munnicx, who rented the building out to pharmacist Aspina. On 30 October 1749 the building was sold to Johannes Theodorus Axer, a pharmacist from Essen. Upon his death in 1789 the house passed to his nieces. One of them, Sybilla, married to Euschachius Willems, continued to live there and sold the shop with all its stock to pharmacist Cornelis Lohmans from Maaseik. Willems ran a grocery shop in the building and later a fashion shop. Since then the building has had various different retail uses.

‍

The following chronogram can be read on the stone: epIphanIa DoMInI CaeLo eXaLtata, that is, (this house) ascended into heaven (on the feast of) the revelation of the Lord (1714); better known as the day of Epiphany.
By adding the numerical value of the larger capital letters, the year of construction is obtained: 1714

‍

The facing brick in Platielstraat is very artfully executed. The gable pillars even run under the image, which reinforces the unity with the gable.
A facade that has undergone quite a bit of renovation over the years, and which originally had three openings at the bottom instead of a large "kiekoet" (caboose) and cross windows at the top in front of the window frames that were later extended downwards, must have been a lot more balanced and attractive as a whole.