Weathervane: Cotswold Sheep

Date1883-1900 probably

Attributed to L. W. Cushing & Sons (active 18[72?]-1933)

MediumCopper, lead solder, paint, traces of gilding; the separate, modern mounting block is painted wood

DimensionsOverall: 19 1/4 x 24 x 3in. (48.9 x 61 x 7.6cm)

Credit LineGift of Patricia Lambert

Object number2011.800.1

DescriptionA weathervane in the form of a full-bodied sheep, standing on a cross-bar and presented to the Museum in 2012 on a modern, black-painted wooden display base.
Label TextL. W. Cushing and Sons of Waltham, Massachusetts, illustrated an 1883 copyrighted weathervane design for a "Cotswold Sheep" in its catalogue no. 9. The design corresponds to the Folk Art Museum's vane. In 1883, it sold for $25.00. (The catalogue also showed an 1883 copyrighted design for a "Cotswold Ram"; this vane, much larger at 32 inches tall by 41 inches long, sold for $150.)

Several breed-specific livestock vanes were made in the late nineteenth century: Cotswold and Merino were two of the sheep vanes available, each of them bearing hallmarks of their live counterparts.

Cotswolds are a luster longwool, dual-purpose (meat and wool) breed, notable for their ability to thrive on meager diets. They originted in the Cotswold hills of the English southern midlands and were introduced to America by 1832. The breed has now (2012) become relatively rare.

ProvenanceLambert (CWF's donor) bought this vane at a show in Princeton, NJ, from a now-unidentified Long Island, NY, dealer in 1965 or 1966.