The story behind the stone
Or, I spy with my little eye something you don't know (in this case).
At St. Pieterstraat no. 38 there are four birds in the gable: three crows with a blackbird above them.
The representation refers to Hub Krewinkel's name (three crows, because there are also two children) and the first name of his wife Merle, a goldsmith by profession. Hence the blackbird also has a gold ring in its beak.
The joke on the edge: III X RAEYEN can be read as follows in combination with the image: three guesses ..three crows, which therefore refers to the three Krewinkels. From their Brabant background, the verse sounds even better with "raoje" (=guesses) and "kraoje"(=crows).
Despite the date 1713 this is a modern new stone, placed not long ago above the shop of the Krewinkel family.
The Maastricht sculptor Hans Kohnen cut the stone from blue Namur stone according to the design of the client and painter Hub Krewinkel, who patinated the image to give it an old look.
The two rosettes next to the blackbird actually conceal the bolts with which the stone is fixed to the facade.
Just like the houses in the surrounding area the house dates from the early 18th century, but the year 1713 was chosen because Hub Krewinkel's birthday is on the 13th.
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