The Weathervane from Heggen

Abstract

The small-scale images executed on the weathervane from Heggen represent the culminations of battles of real and fantastic beasts. The historical action of engraving the metal plate once changed this structure permanently, creating a unit which transgresses our modern contrasting notions of dead material and live animal body. This article examines the presentation of the material object in the museum exhibition today in relation to the ways of displaying it in the Middle Ages. Influenced by the material and sensorial turns and theories of artworks’ “mythopoetic” efficacy as outlined by Didi-Huberman, it lays forth a new layer of understanding Scandinavian weathervanes concerning the capacity for apotropaic protection.