At Boschstraat 91 there is a gable stone showing a strange kind of animal and it is a good thing that underneath ithere are words to describe what it is supposed to represent: IN THE LEO PARD. It is only a pity that there is no date. According to experts this could be Maastricht's oldest gablestone, given the design and portrayal.
The stone cutter has probably never seen a leopard. The animal has a head that more or less resembles a human face. It is also possible that he was inspired by the stories about the terrifying Manticore, a beast from the medieval mythical animal kingdom. The Manticore had the body of a lion and the head of a human. It also had a scorpion's tail and formidable teeth with no less than three than three rows of them. Compared with that animal, our leopard looks rather friendly.
The gablestone comes from Vrijthof 9 and not from the house "de liebard" at Grote Staat 7, the neighbouring house of "the country's crown", because there you could see a crowned leopard that has now gone.
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