Wheel barometer
ca. 1770
Medium
Mahogany
Dimensions
Overall: 37 1/2 × 14 × 2 in. (95.3 × 35.6 × 5.1 cm)
Classification
Scientific Instruments-Barometers and Thermometers
Culture
British, Derby
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
Accession Number
64.101.883
Art Historical Context
Step into the elegant world of 18th scientific ingenuity with John Whitehurst's *Wheel Barometer*, crafted around 1770 in Derby, England. This mahogany masterpiece, standing an impressive 37½ inches tall, exemplifies the fusion of decorative arts and practical science. Whitehurst, a renowned clockmaker and instrument maker from Derby, specialized in precision devices that measured atmospheric pressure to predict weather—a vital tool in an era when reliable forecasting could mean the difference between a bountiful harvest and disaster. The wheel barometer's design features a sophisticated pull...