Reindeer on rooftops may be common come Christmas, but this stag weathervane is no sleigh-bound Comet, Cupid or Blitzen. This late 19th-century weathervane once sat atop the roof of the Florida home of Florence Knoll Bassett, a pioneer of the streamlined design aesthetic that defines the post-war American office interior. Weathervanes may not be a common sight in the Modern focused design sales at Phillips, but, says the auction house’s design specialist Kimberly Sørensen, American folk art “served as a major source of inspiration among modernists”. Weathervanes are enduring favourites of the folk art market, and sculptural form and original surface are all important—in 2006 at Sotheby’s New York, a copper Indian Chief weathervane, from around 1900, sold for a record $5.8m with fees. Primitive sheet iron stag weathervane (late 19th century). Design, Phillips, New York, 17 December. Estimate: $5,000-$7,000