In a print I saw on the Rijksmuseum website, [Wipmolens aan de Vlist tussen Haastrecht en Schoonhoven](http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.213199), Wijnand Otto Jan Nieuwenkamp, 1903, has a mermaid decorating the top.
Is this common or unusual that a mermaid would be a decoration on a windmill?
https://preview.redd.it/6bp42l0zd8r81.png?width=608&format=png&auto=webp&s=d68d9bb9d9d3236037fa95bc9114949a6d8fb4f0
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I have never seen it before, but I’m no expert
Is it common? No. But it’s not unusual either. Millers use these as a personal mark
Isn’t that a weather/wind vane? You often see those on wind mills (and high buildings), though its often in the shape of a rooster.
It’s a watermill, so a mermaid seems on-topic.
Could be a windvane. In churces these are often in the form of roosters, swans or crosses but can take any form. Could even be that there was a regional variation which is now lost (for example, the region of fence gates and farmbuildings could be recognised by specific form and decoration).