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- *Pricing varies depending on the installation rod selected, any design modifications, and the options chosen.
The Viking Ship Weather Vane shown here was constructed in copper with optional gold leafed accents on the dragon head prow, sail, shields and wind indicator at the top of the mast. We have also made versions of this viking ship with optional alternating gold or palladium leaf striping on the sails. In the larger sizes, we can even include a translucent glass jewel in the dragon’s eye! Other popular choices are an all copper ship or a combination of copper and brass. Because we craft each weathervane to order, we work with each customer’s preferences to make it just the way they want.
Most, but not all, of our Viking Ship weathervanes have found homes in the Northern Tier states and Canada. This is not surprising really, since many Scandinavians settled in these regions when they moved to the western hemisphere. We hope someday to have one of our Viking Ship weather vanes take up residence in Denmark, Sweden, Greenland, Iceland or Norway. This vane is often ordered by schools whose mascot is the Vikings.
A Viking Ship Weathervane is the reason West Coast Weather Vanes is in existence today. In 1988, while on our honeymoon in New England, Ken and I stumbled upon a small shop that manufactured hand-crafted copper weathervanes. They had a Viking Ship vane set up in their showroom that resonated with Ken’s Danish heritage, and we ordered one for our home in California. It served as the inspiration for starting our own business making weathervanes and here we are, so many years later, still making them!
Viking Ships and weathervanes share another important relationship. As early as the ninth century, larger Viking ships were often equipped with fully functional bronze wind vanes. These were mounted at the top of the mast and helped Viking sailors navigate open seas where others feared to venture. So, at least in part, the Viking invasions throughout most of early medieval Europe and Russia can be attributed to the weathervane! Along with the early Christian Church, Scandinavians were among the first European peoples to adopt weathervane into their culture.