Indian archer weathervane
Hammered copper and glass made by Shem Drowne, circa 1716
136.8 cm (height) x 118.2 cm (width) x 4.3 cm (depth)
This Indian Archer weathervane represents the Native American from the old colonial seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It originally stood atop the cupola of Boston's Province House, which the General Court purchased in 1716 to serve as the official residence of the governor. Like the royal coat of arms that hung over the doorway, the weathervane graced the cupola as a symbol of government. Shem Drowne, the artisan who created it, was the best-known tinplate worker in early Boston. Several of his other vanes survive in the Boston area, including a rooster now on the First Church in Cambridge, Congregational; a swallow-tail banneret at the Old North Church; and his most famous, the grasshopper atop Faneuil Hall.
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