Deer weathervane

From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record

Notice the small circular dents, likely from shotgun pellets. Perhaps someone was doing a little target practice, or maybe the weathervane got between a hunter and a bird on the wing. Luckily, the damage wasn’t worse. This rare deer weathervane is one of only three known examples by its anonymous maker. The three-dimensional copper form, ears, tail, and lead-filled, half-round antlers were all hand hammered, probably over wooden forms carved by the artist. The cast zinc head was made by pouring molten metal into a mold and letting it cool and harden. United States, Americas