Weather cock
Thomas Drowne
(American, 1715–1796)
about 1772
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts
Medium/TechniqueGilt sheet copper, iron, lead, glass eyes
DimensionsHeight x width: 32 x 46 in. (81.3 x 116.8 cm)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated anonymously and from Barbara L. and Theodore B. Alfond, Joyce and Edward Linde, and Barbara W. and Amos B. Hostetter, Jr., and by exchange from the Bequest of Barbara Boylston Bean, Gift of the Faulkner Hospital, Samuel Putnam Avery Fund, Bequest of Samuel Abbott Green, Gift of Mrs. Alice Carpenter Ireland, Gift of Mrs. Charles L. Bybee, Gift of Amy and Richard Lipton, Gift of Nancy G. Myers and Lawrence Coolidge, Gift of the legatees under the will of Ellen T. Bullard, and Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Thomas H. Weller
Accession number2008.1401
ClassificationsSculpture
Description
For over two centuries, this spirited rooster weather vane perched atop the First Parish Meetinghouse in Newbury, Massachusetts, shifting from building to building over time as the Parish relocated. It was made in 1772 by Boston metalsmith Thomas Drowne, who like his father Shem Drowne before him, created numerous weather vanes for churches, meetinghouses, and other buildings throughout eastern Massachusetts. To create the form, Drowne hammered copper sheets into a carved mold, then embellished it with blown glass eyes. Though originally crafted to be displayed with the natural patina of the copper and iron, this rooster received numerous coats of gold leaf over the years making it an even more eye-catching piece. Originally intended as a functional tool to help predict the weather, the weather vane now greets all visitors to the MFA’s Art of the Americas Wing.
ProvenanceFirst Parish Congregational Church, Newbury, Massachusetts; 2008, sold by the First Parish Congregational Church to the MFA. (Accession Date: December 17, 2008)
