House zum Spiegel
Location, Object
City of Schaffhausen, Canton of Schaffhausen, Old town, Vordergasse 86, Haus zum Spiegel. Five-storey corner house, built c. 1645 for the patrician Heinrich Seiler. Polygonal oriel in stone (1st and 2nd floor) and wood (3rd and 4th floors) with parapet reliefs including five panels with emblems and the coats of arms of Heinrich Seiler and his wives.
Emblems (2)
Context
Oriel, 1st floor, parapet relief with five panels; the two emblems are on the left (1) and right (2) sides of the central panels showing the coloured coats of arms.
Authorship, Date
Executed c. 1645 by local stonemason Heinrich Heimlicher (mason’s mark in the central panel of 2nd floor); restored 1976.
Significance
Moral emblems of prudence alluding to the name of the house, ‘Spiegel’ (mirror).
Source
Unidentified. Allegorical figure of Prudence (Prudentia) ist similar to various editions of Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia. Chilon of Sparta holding a mirror occurs in Alciato 1550.
Literature
Kdm SH 1: 304; KF 1: 546; Graf 1974: 165.
view from west.
view from south-east.
A philosopher (Chilon of Sparta?) displaying a large mirror.
NOSCE TE IPSUM.
Prudence holding a snake and a mirror reflecting her face.
PRUDENTIA.
Copyright note: Added 2019, revised 2026. All photos taken by the author, July 2016.