A FINE AND RARE GEORGE III SCOTTISH INLAID MAHOGANY MERCURY ...

Estimate

£1,200 - £1,800

A FINE AND RARE GEORGE III SCOTTISH INLAID MAHOGANY MERCURY WHEEL BAROMETER WITH TWELVE-INCH DIALBALTHAZAR KNIE, EDINBURGH, CIRCA 1790The 12 inch circular silvered register calibrated in barometric inches 28-31 and divided into hundreds three times to outer track, the centre finely engraved with foliate festoon swags signed Knie, Fecit over starburst and conforming oval cartouche inscribed Edinburgh, within inner track annotated Stormy, Much Rain, Rain, Changeable, Fair, Settled Fair, Very Dry, with steel hand and a brass recording pointer set behind glazed cast brass cavetto moulded bezel, the chevron-edged rounded-top case inset with silvered HYGROMETER, also with fine foliate festoon engraved centre signed KNIE EDIN'R, annotated DRY/DAMP and set within glazed brass bezel, over baluster-shaped upright centred with an arched glazed silvered Fahrenheit scale alcohol Thermometer within moulded surround and flanked by inlaid oval conch shell motifs, the base also rounded and centred with a circular fan cartouche.107cm (42.25ins) high, 34cm (13.5ins) wide.Provenance:The Dr. Castle Collection of barometers and other weather instruments. Purchased at Christie's, London sale 500 Years: Decorative Arts, Europe 23rd September 2010 (lot 145) for £5,643.79.Balthazar Knie is recorded in Goodison, Nicholas ENGLISH BAROMETERS 1680-1860 and Banfield, Edwin BAROMETER MAKERS AND RETAILERS 1660-1900 as working in Cork, Ireland from 1773 before moving to Edinburgh in 1776 where he remained until his death in 1817. He was born in Germany and spent several years travelling around Europe demonstrating his skills as a glass blower and barometer maker before finally settling in Edinburgh. He gained a considerable local reputation as a maker and repairer of barometers (and sand glasses including for maritime use). Knie was a notably inventive maker who is perhaps best known for developing a form of angle tube barometer which, by introducing a second acute angle bend into the tube, resulted in a more compact design (see Goodison, page 171, Plate 107).