Sõru museum displays Vana Toomas collection

The Sõru Museum on Hiiumaa is displaying objects featuring Vana Toomas, Tallinn’s symbolic weather vane figure, from the private collection of Eero Kööp, ERR reports.

Vana Toomas appears on a wide range of items in the exhibition. Kööp said he had found, bought or received the objects as gifts over roughly 10 years.

“I do not remember what sparked the interest. Perhaps it started with one wall plate,” Kööp said, adding that many items from his collection were not included in the exhibition.

Vana Toomas will mark a major anniversary in a few years, Kööp said. The weather vane was placed on the tower in 1530, while one legend says the figure was named Toomas later.

The identity of the person who created the first Vana Toomas, now held by the Tallinn City Museum, is unknown. The figure has largely retained its appearance over five centuries, although it has been stylised in different ways.

For example, a version made for Tallinn’s former twin city Schwerin was turned into a clown. Vana Toomas also appears somewhat differently on restaurant tableware, Kööp said, although the figure is usually recognisable and the flag is always positioned on one side.

Most of the items in the exhibition date back several decades. One of the best-known objects is a former Estoplast Vana Toomas table lamp. More recent versions are different, Kööp said, because contemporary Vana Toomas souvenirs are made in China and ordered by souvenir sellers.

The exhibition began with a practical need. Kööp asked the museum whether he could display his collection while renovating his home, said Eve Ellermäe, director of the Sõru Museum.