19TH CENTURY ANTIQUE ENGLISH MAHOGANY MARINE BAROMETER SIGNED NIXON
Date United Kingdom, 1830
Medium Mahogany
Dimension 99 cm (39⁰/₁ inches)
The elegant turned and fluted mahogany trunk has a parcel gilt opening door at the top in the form of a sliding shutter. It is surmounted by an original turned and carved wood finial. The instrument hangs on a good brass gimbal.
Date: United Kingdom, 1830
Medium: Mahogany
Dimension: 99 cm (39⁰/₁ inches)
Literature: The name Nixon is not recorded as a maker of barometers so it is possible he was the client or ship’s captain who commissioned it. The quality and condition of the carved and fluted parcel gilt case make this the finest such marine barometer that we have owned. For a detailed history of the origin and development of the marine barometer, see chapter 8 of Banfield in which numerous examples of these fascinating instruments are illustrated.
Bibliography:
Barometer Makers and Retailers 1660 – 1900 by Edwin Banfield, Baros Books.
English Barometers 1680-1860 by Nicholas Goodison, Antique Collectors’ Club.
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