Weathervane: Indian Hunter

Date1850-1875

MediumPainted sheet iron

DimensionsOverall: 42 1/4 x 21 1/2 x 1/2in. (107.3 x 54.6 x 1.3cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1957.800.1

DescriptionA painted sheet iron weathervane in the shape of an Indian standing upright on a horizontal strip, one leg directly under him, the other back, suggestive of forward walking motion. One hand is raised to waist height and, in it, he holds a knife, painted onto the sheet metal. The other hand wields a tomahawk above his head. He wears a headdress of four feathers. His leggings are painted orange, his moccassins black. His shirt is brown, with a belt or sash at the waist. Black lines for fringe or trim are found at the neck, the cuffs, and the bottom of shirt. The tomahawk is riveted to left side of figure; the raised hand is painted so that it appears to grip the tomahawk. The tomahawk is bolted to the hand. An iron rod, tapering from bottom to top, slips through metal loops on the lower horizontal strip and on the elbow on the left side of figure, where it ends with a bolt. The vane revolved on this rod.

Artist unidentified.
Label TextThe Indian raises his tomahawk in a threatening manner, but his placid expression mitigates the ferocious gesture. A number of similar vanes survive, suggesting that they derived from a popular pattern.
ProvenanceFound in New York State by CWF's source, Edith Gregor Halpert, Downtown Gallery, New York, NY.

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