Louisville, Quebec; early nineteenth century; painted tar-covered metal; 95 x 85 x 36 cm; Price Collection. CMC 79-1587

This giant-tailed rooster is made of several pieces of sheet metal, hammered, tarred, soldered together and painted. This powerful bird and a colleague probably watched over the destiny of the old twin-steepled church in Louiseville, which was built in 1804 and demolished a century later, in 1917.

The rooster is a national as well as religious symbol. In addition to symbolizing Christian faith, it represents the French nation. The Gallic rooster is, in fact, a common sight in Francophone communities — on church steeples, wayside crosses, barn gables and rooftops of homes.