Formal Horse Weathervane

Possibly New Hampshire, circa 1860–1880
Cast and sheet iron with original paint.
27 ½ x 37 ½ x 5 ½ inches

This finely modelled horse weathervane represents the strongest known example from a small group attributed to an unidentified maker, distinguished by their fully three-dimensional cast bodies with sheet metal tails. The form is both sculptural and restrained, with a distinctive construction that sets the group apart.

Once loosely associated with a “Rochester Iron Works” in New Hampshire, recent research has found no evidence to support that attribution, leaving the maker unknown while further emphasizing the rarity of the group.

Provenance:
Found in Vermont;
Collection of Gary and Melissa Lipton;
Collection of Marna Anderson;
Stephen Score, Boston;
Collection of Joyce Linde; Sotheby’s, New York, 2020

Published:
Illustrated in major recent works on American weathervanes and folk art