Night light

For a country that’s less than the size of, say, Sikkim, the Netherlands has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to natural beauty and the arts. For visitors to Amsterdam, therefore, the most gratifying souvenirs to take away are intangible memories: of drifting down the Canal Ring, perhaps, or gazing upon a Rembrandt at the Rijksmuseum — or just delighting in the sight of windmills silhouetted against a dawn sky. I did all of that, and then encountered this windmill night light at a souvenir shop in the windmill village of Zaanse Schans. It’s an iconic work of glaze pottery from Delft, the city that’s home to famed artist Johannes Vermeer. Modelled on Chinese porcelain work, it’s a legacy from the Dutch Golden Age of the 17th Century. I bought it for € 12, and it illuminates my bedside, this nightly reminder of many intangible memories of Amsterdam.