Strap work decoration (±1570-±1600)

St. Annenstraat 12 (1565)

A typical feature of the early Renaissance style is the strap work ornamentation popularised by Vredeman de Vries. Strap work is built up out of S or C-shaped segments which follow the outer edges of the gable top. The only surviving example of this style is located on St. Annenstraat 12 (1565). The upper part of the gable top is a reconstruction.

Oost-Indisch Huis (1605)

Initially strap work decoration remained part of the repertoire of the slightly later Amsterdam Renaissance style, with Hendrick de Keyser as its principal representative. Some examples: Singel 140-142 (the Dolphin approx. 1600), the facade facing the southern courtyard of the Oost-Indisch Huis, Oude Hoogstraat (approx. 1605) and the former Militiegebouw or Bushuis, Singel 423 (1606).