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Lot Essay
Exhibiting a graceful pose and a vibrant animation characteristic of the most successful of weathervanes, this magnificent Liberty Goddess weathervane is in exceptional condition and has few rivals. While most Liberty Goddess weathervanes are unstamped, and attribution to a specific maker is difficult of impossible, this weathervane bears the distinctive stamp of her maker: Cushing & White of Waltham, Massachusetts. The stamp also bears the date in which this model was patented: September 12, 1865.
After the War of 1812, nationalistic enthusiasm soared and patriotic motifs such as eagles and Liberty figures were widely sought in all aspects of American material culture. While most Liberty Goddess weathervanes were made after 1850, they were in response to that patriotic demand. The Goddess is depicted in her liberty cap and holding the flag while her other hand points into the wind.
Other superlative examples of Cushing & White's model of the Liberty Goddess weathervane can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution, the Shelburne Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, as well as in a few private collections.
After the War of 1812, nationalistic enthusiasm soared and patriotic motifs such as eagles and Liberty figures were widely sought in all aspects of American material culture. While most Liberty Goddess weathervanes were made after 1850, they were in response to that patriotic demand. The Goddess is depicted in her liberty cap and holding the flag while her other hand points into the wind.
Other superlative examples of Cushing & White's model of the Liberty Goddess weathervane can be seen at the Smithsonian Institution, the Shelburne Museum, the Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, as well as in a few private collections.