Study of Turkeys c. 1840s

David Cox created this "Study of Turkeys" using watercolor and graphite. Observe the turkey, a creature that, since its European encounter in the Americas, has waddled its way into our cultural consciousness as a symbol of abundance, particularly during harvest festivals. Yet, if we trace the symbolic path of fowl through history, we find earlier associations with vigilance and sacrifice. The turkey's strut and gobble echo the protective cackling of the sacred geese of Juno, whose warning saved Rome. Consider, too, the ritual significance of birds in ancient augury, where their behavior foretold the future. The emotional weight carried by this barnyard animal engages our collective memory. It’s a vessel filled with our anxieties about survival, social gatherings, and the changing seasons, conjuring a complex web of psychological associations. This is how the image of a turkey transforms—an emblem that has taken flight through time, landing in our present with layers of meaning gathered from disparate epochs.