American Folk Art Running Horse Silhouette Weather Vane on Rod

A flat-cut silhouette weather vane in the form of a horse at a full trot, one foreleg raised and neck arched. Cut from sheet steel with a pierced eye and a shaped mane, the figure retains an old red painted surface worn down to bare metal across the high points — the kind of honest weathering only decades of exposure produce. A vertical mounting strap riveted to the belly seats the vane onto a matching red-painted iron rod, the original directional post.

Silhouette animal vanes like this one belong to the vernacular tradition of American farm and barn ornament, where a local tinsmith or the farmer himself cut a recognizable form to top a cupola or gable. The trotting horse was among the most common subjects, a nod to the working animal at the center of rural life. The layered paint loss, the scattered dents, and the seam repair at the hindquarters mark this as a piece that spent its working life outdoors before coming down as folk sculpture.

CONDITION

Good with age-appropriate wear throughout. The rear leg is absent, and there is an old crack and crude seam repair through the hindquarter, with a small pierced loss at the flank; paint loss to bare steel across much of the surface with scattered denting and edge nicks. Mounts securely on the accompanying rod.

DIMENSIONS / SPECIFICATIONS

• Figure: 20 1/2" W × 19" H
• Weight: 2.5 lbs
• Material: Steel with painted surface
• Campbell's Soup Can (4" H) Shown for Scale — Not Included