Weathervane: Trotting Horse

Date1875-1900

MediumCopper and gilt

DimensionsOverall: 29 3/8 x 48 x 6in. (74.6 x 121.9 x 15.2cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1966.800.4

DescriptionHollow, 3-D full bodied horse. Mane and tail flying. Wide eyes and nostrils, open mouth. All four feet in motion. Long back of trotting horse-stallion. All four legs, the head, tail and mane were cast seperately.
Label TextThis large, spirited horse must have been an impressive sight as it rotated against the sky, for its designer captured the alertness, grace, and strength that made horses such popular weather vane motifs in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Trotting champions were often favored as weather vane subjects, and manufacturers sometimes captured the individualizing traits that made their representations of well-known racers such as "George M. Patchen" and "Ethan Allen" instantly recognizable, although this trotter's identity remains unknown.

To achieve the dimensionality and fullness of this substantial form, small pieces of sheet copper were individually cut, fitted, and soldered into place to form the belly and connect the sides of the vane. The maker also departed from standard practice by sand-casting the horse's head from copper or a copper alloy instead of iron or zinc.

Vanes of this design have been linked to J. W. Fisk & Company of New York City and to Harris and Company of Boston, but the form does not appear in either firm's known catalogues.
ProvenanceGerald Kornblau, New York, N.Y.