Black Forest Style Carved Aneroid Barometer and Thermometer, C. 1890

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Black Forest Style Carved Aneroid Barometer and Thermometer, c. 1890

A finely carved Continental wall barometer and thermometer in the … Read more Black Forest Style Carved Aneroid Barometer and Thermometer, c. 1890

A finely carved Continental wall barometer and thermometer in the Black Forest taste, formed as a vertical weather station with an upper thermometer and lower circular aneroid barometer set within an openwork foliate hardwood frame. The case is richly carved with scrolling leaves, pierced reserves, and a cresting leaf terminal, giving the piece the naturalistic depth and decorative movement associated with late 19th-century carved Alpine and Black Forest style objects.

Research into comparable examples shows that these carved wall instruments were commonly produced in the late Victorian and Edwardian period, often in oak or walnut, with integrated thermometers above brass-rimmed aneroid barometer dials. Closely related examples are frequently cataloged as German, Swiss, French, or Continental “Black Forest” style barometer-thermometers, especially when the case incorporates oak leaves, acorns, hunting motifs, or naturalistic scroll carving. Comparable period examples date broadly from circa 1880–1910.

The aneroid barometer form itself became commercially important in the mid-19th century after Lucien Vidie’s metallic, liquid-free barometer was patented in the 1840s, allowing compact domestic weather instruments of this type to become widely used in European interiors. In this example, the functional scientific instrument is treated as a decorative carved object, balancing utility with the rustic, naturalistic vocabulary of late 19th-century domestic design.

Measurements: 20.25" h x 9.25" w. See less