Weathervane: Double Fish

Date1850-1875

MediumIron and paint

DimensionsUpper fish alone: 11 1/8 x 33 1/2 x 1 3/8in. (28.3 x 85.1 x 3.5cm); Lower fish alone: 11 x 33 1/4 x 1 1/8in. (27.9 x 84.5 x 2.9cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1960.800.1

DescriptionTwo separate, identically-patterned, sheet iron fish vanes mounted on a pole one above the other. The tail of each fish is separated into halves, and each has a tiny open mouth, plus two small sets of zigzag fins on the top and two on the bottom. To accommodate insertion of a pole, each fish has a vertical ridge in it about one third back from the mouth and, on the fish's flip side, an added horizontal strip of sheet iron that is similarly ridged to accommodate insertion of the pole. In each case, the horizontal strip extends only to the narrowest point of the tail (leaving this area particularly weak). A short, twisted, propellor-shaped brace is affixed to the lower edge of each fish. A ball with a flared extension is threaded onto the pole to separate the two fish; a ball below the lower fish supports it on the pole.

Artist unidentified.
Label TextThis bold and imaginative vane may have been inspired by Pisces, the twelfth sign of the zodiac, which is represented by two fish. A tradition that this vane was used to herald the spring shad run in the Susquehanna River remains unsubstantiated, but at least one similarly-shaped vane shares this one's oral tradition of having been found in Pennsylvania.
ProvenanceFound in York County, Pa.; Joe Kindig, Jr., York, Pa.; Stony Point Folk Art Gallery, Stony Point, NY.

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