Here is a wonderful Galapagos Tortoise Weathervane. It was designed for customers in Texas who have extended their horse ranch to include exotic animals they are protecting and, in turn, through education and donations, supporting the protection of these species’ in the wild. It is a portrait of the Tortoise they took over the care of from the San Diego, CA zoo. He is thought to be in excess of 100 years old! They also have ordered two Giraffe Weathervanes from us for the cupolas on two of their barns.

This is a copper weather vane. It is a mirror image, fabricated in Detailed Swell Bodied Style. By mirror image we mean that it is exactly the same from both sides. There is optional gold leafing on the intersections of the plates of  his shell. As this vane weathers and patinas these gold details will be increasingly distinct and eye catching. His glass eyes are brown. You might notice in the photos a little metal ‘ear’ below the copper bar. This is a Security Device that some customers option if they are mounting their weather vane in a high wind area.

Many of our weather vanes are used to identify a business. We have made them for pre-schools, dentists and distilleries, among the many. Customers love it and it is in keeping with the tradition of weather vanes. In history only royalty had weather vanes to identify their coat of arms. But when metal working became more common, and while literacy was all but forbidden, businesses would identify their trade with a weather vane. For instance, a blacksmith would have and anvil weather vane, a dairy would have a cow, and quite commonly a butcher would have a pig.