Wednesday 14 January 2009

A Mystery...


The Promenade des Anglais was closed on Sunday morning obliging us to take a diversion round the back streets. As the back streets aren't intended for through traffic, it was a long and sometimes frustrating detour: for the driver that is. For the passenger, i.e. me, there were lots of fascinating things to see from the car that I would probably have missed on foot.
I spotted these oxen way up near the top of a building holding up a terrace. There must have about ten in total arranged in pairs. The building was a biggish one, faced with stone and what I'd love to know is: why the oxen? If anyone out there knows Nice I'd love to know something about the building..
The other thing that would be interesting is to remember where I saw them.

14 comments:

Bhavesh Chhatbar said...

Sorry Angela... being an Indian, I have little knowledge about Nice. I believe the oxen must either be having a religious link in the ancient times, or are there just for the art.

Well, you have taken another great shot.

Olivier said...

peut être un nostalgique de la camargue et de ces taureaux.

tut-tut said...

They're yoked, holding the building in place. Perhaps a cattle exchange was the original purpose? Or maybe Olivier is correct and they are the bulls. Hey, I read that without a problem!

Rob said...

Stock exchange? I love a good mystery and I hope we find the answer. Anyway, this is an interesting terrace held up by oxen.

antigoni said...

Great post.
The baby books are my tradition. I like collections and it's a perfect opportunity to collect things for my kids.

Tanya Breese said...

That is interesting...I've never seen oxen represented like that!

magiceye said...

a stock exchange seems a possibility!
lovely piece of work and capture!

Kay said...

What a fun discovery! I wonder if somebody actually knows? They are very beautifully created.

Jane Hards Photography said...

Intriguing a mystery. Wonder why oxen.

Barb said...

I love the blue detail at the top!

Walker said...

I did some Google searches for about 30 minutes of research, nothing. Now I am starting to notice this kind of decoration is lots of places. Thanks.

Jilly said...

Oh this is marvellous, Angela. Well spotted.

Hilda said...

Architectural details can be so fascinating! If you find out why the oxen, you'll come back and tell us, right? :D

Anonymous said...

Hi Angela

The address is 28, rue du Maréchal Joffre. It's also one of my favorite buildings in Nice (the other side of the building is impressive as well). Thanks for the blog!

Thierry