a gaping maw

I spotted this amazing decorative detail on a number of the houses in Melville St this morning. Seems at first sight incongruous against the elegance of the New Town buildings but it could said that in some cases there is a kind of metaphorical congruity between the hungry gape and the nature of the business being carried on in many of these fine houses now - accountants, lawyers, investment firms. I dont know what the history of this architectural ironwork is or what meaning the detail carries, if any, but it brightened up a cold, dreich morning and provided me with a nice little blip opportunity.