Weathervane: Pigeon

Date1880-1900

Possibly by J. W. Fiske & Company (active 1870-1893)

Possibly by Van Dorn Iron Works (active 1884)

OriginAmerica, New York, New York City or Ohio, Cleveland (possibly)

MediumCopper, copper alloy, and lead

DimensionsOverall: 17 1/4 x 10 x 3 1/4in. (43.8 x 25.4 x 8.3cm)

Credit LineFrom the collection of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller; gift of the Museum of Modern Art

Object number1932.800.5

DescriptionA full-bodied, stamped and hammered copper weathervane in the form of a carrier pigeon standing erect on a ball. The two halves of the bird are soldered together, the feet separately cast in an alloy and soldered to the copper legs. A protuberance on the beak is carved lead solder. The neck is well modeled with parallel lines, the body feathers deeply embossed.
Label TextJ. W. Fiske & Company and Van Dorn Iron Works both advertised pigeon weather vanes, but their catalogues show stockier birds, and it is uncertain whether either fabricated the Folk Art Museum's example. The two catalogue illustrations also lack this bird's carunculated cere (fleshy growth on the top of its beak). The enhancement may be unique, having been added by the maker or purchaser to customize what otherwise seems to be a standard, mass-produced vane. The detail on the vane consists of a dollop of lead solder that was carved to create more realistic texture. Many species of live birds bear these natural growths.
Breeding and racing homing pigeons was a popular pasttime in the late nineteenth century, and this vane may have appealed to such an enthusiast. The pronounced verticality of the design would have diminished its effectiveness as an indicator of wind direction. Similarly configured birds were usually sold attached to arrows, whose horizontality, heavy points, and wide fletches more readily reacted to the breezes.

ProvenanceFound in Sugartown, Pa., by Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY; acquired from Halpert by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller: given by the latter to to The Museum of Modern Art in 1939; given by MoMA to CWF in June 1954.

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