Heart catcher

Rescued from the depository

Hardly anything is known about the little gable stone (size 24.3 x 26 x 8 cm), nor where it originally came from or what the image exactly means.

For years the gable stone lay for old garbage in the inaccessible Bonnefant depository. On the basis of an outdated inventory list, it was recovered after a searc . This search concerned a number of Gable stones that looked promising despite their poor condition.
A few have since been reinstated after thorough restoration: the White Rose in Bouillonstraat 14; the Baumhauer family coat of arms, Bouillonstraat 8-10 and the Dry Shears, Looiersgracht 4.

The enigmatic stone below was refurbished but still had to wait a while for a sponsor before it was ready for relocation (see below).

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Mysterious

The image consists of a set of seemingly separate elements.
In the centre we see a house mark, with the word 'house' in the sense of 'house of Orange', so not a building but the family.
Actually, it would be better to call it a family mark, because it was used by a family to mark itself and its possessions.
Then there are two loose letters: H H, which undoubtedly belong to the house mark.
And at the bottom there is a pierced heart.
It is obvious that these elements are somehow connected:

The house mark belongs to a family H (Henricus?).
The pierced heart makes it clear that this is a special kind of dagger or hunting knife, a so-called heart catcher.
Is it possibly a metaphor for the family name?

Are we dealing here with the (heraldic) stone of Henricus Hartsvanger?
Of course that remains a guess, but it is possible. It is just a pity that nothing has been found of a person of that name.

 
Location

The owner of this property, who had previously had 'De Witte Roos' (=The White Rose) reinstated in the courtyard of his house, wanted another stone to be placed above his gate.

The VMG was happy to advise and help him. That became this little stone.

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