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Weathervanes
Made of copper and brass, weathervanes have both a decorative and practical purpose. Brass and copper weathervanes are designed to indicate which direction the wind is traveling in, but they can be ornamental to a roof, as well, and, in some cases, small weathervanes for cupolas are another ornamentation option. Weathervanes are available in many styles, including rustic weathervanes, old, antique weathervanes, and modern weathervanes. As silhouette styles are popular for many homes, weathervane shapes can include grasshopper weathervanes, dog weathervanes, horse weathervanes, and even automotive weathervanes.
Have you ever wondered how a weathervane works? Although often made from hammered brass and copper, each weathervane has a center rod and the amount of area and weight on both sides of the rod needs to be proportionate for the weathervane to point in the correct direction when the wind blows. A weathervane, especially modern silhouette weathervanes, has an ornament, but, regardless of whether they're grasshopper weathervanes, dragon weathervanes, or dog weathervanes, manufactured or handmade copper and brass weathervanes should have an ornament with unequal area on both sides of the center rod but the mass of the ornament should also be equal on both sides. Even though all brass and copper weathervanes have these physical properties, weathervane designs fall into five types: arrows and scrolls, banners and bannerets, silhouettes, swell, and full bodied. The last three types - silhouette, swell, and full-bodied weathervanes - are seen the most on roof tops and almost always have animal forms. The designs for these types, however, are a thin metal figure for silhouette weathervanes, hammered copper into a mold for swell weathervanes, and a full three-dimensional figure for full-bodied weathervanes.
Although modern silhouette weathervanes seem to be a modern invention, they, in fact, date back to the time of the Greeks. The first weathervane was supposedly a four to eight feet long figure of Greek god Triton attached to the Tower of Winds in Athens, although other records of weathervanes in Greece and Rome depicting gods have been found.
The next point in history in which weathervanes were found was the Ninth Century, AD. The Vikings were found to have bronze quadrant-shaped weathervanes supporting an animal figure or Norse fable creature on top. These weathervanes were found on Viking ships, and this type of weathervane is still in use today in Swedish and Norwegian churches. On mainland Europe in the Ninth Century, the Pope also decreed the use of rooster-shaped weathervanes on domes and steeples on all churches in Europe. The rooster-shaped weathervanes were supposed to symbolize Jesus' prophecy that the rooster would not crow until the morning after the Last Supper until disciple Peter denounced him three times. As a result of this religious significance, rooster-shaped weathervanes, referred to as "weather cocks," have been common ever since on churches in Europe and North America.
Modern weathervanes date back to use of fabric banners used to help archers in Europe know the direction of the wind, and, at a later date, the cloth was replaced by metal. In North America, however, weathervanes didn't appear until the eighteenth century in Boston. Deacon Shem Drowne was the first weathervane maker and his work included the grasshopper weathervane on top of Fanueil Hall in Boston, the banner for Old North Church, and the rooster weathervane for the First Church in Cambridge. His work, such as the grasshopper weathervane, can still be seen today.
Since Drowne's weathervanes in Boston, weathervanes have been an American mainstay, although over the years the silhouette shapes have changed. In the 1800s, for example, weathervanes took patriotic shapes like the Goddess of Liberty and the Federal Eagle and weathervanes in the mid-1800s were popularly shaped like racing horses based on Currier and Ives prints. Later in the nineteenth century, the opulence and ornate architecture of the Victorian Era brought elaborate metal work for weathervanes to match the rest of the metal work on the roofs of many Victorian homes but, by the early twentieth century, simplicity was back in style for weathervanes. Since the early twentieth century, most weathervanes have been designed with a simple silhouette style and this continues up to the present, with many brass and copper weathervane shapes and designs available for home decor and practical purposes.
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