A weather vane is a pivoting device mounted on a roof, spire or tower that turns in the wind to show its direction. It usually consists of a decorative figure or pennant on a vertical spindle, often above fixed arms marked with the four points of the compass.
Weather vanes have been used on churches, manor houses, stables and public buildings for many centuries, and the weathercock on a church steeple is among the most familiar forms. Later designs took the shape of banners, arrows, foxes, horses, ships, fish and other motifs, frequently relating to the building or its owner, such as a hunting scene above a stable block. Materials include wrought iron, sheet copper, cast and gilded copper, and zinc. American nineteenth-century copper vanes are a well-studied collecting field in their own right. Collectors value genuine weathering, an original verdigris or gilded surface, old repairs consistent with long use and interesting folk-art character. Bullet holes and dents are often accepted as part of a vane's history. Antique weather vanes are now often displayed indoors as sculptural objects, or reinstated on barns, garden buildings and stable blocks.
