WMF - Barometer - Metal - Rococo Revival

A decorative German table barometer by WMF (Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik), cast in silver-plated white metal in the ornate Rococo Revival taste popular in German metalware around the turn of the 20th century.

The shield-shaped case is worked in high relief with a pair of doves nesting among scrolling foliage at the crown, flowering rose vines trailing down both sides, a small castellated tower with a lattice window to the right, urn-form finials, and an animal-head mask set within a scallop-shell cartouche below the dial. A plain oval cartouche at the top was left blank for a later monogram. The whole is raised on scrolling acanthus feet.

The circular aneroid barometer dial is signed in German with the standard weather indications — Sturm, Viel Regen, Regen u. Wind, Veränderlich, Schön Wetter, Beständig, S. Trocken — and is calibrated from approximately 680 to 790 mm.

The maker's mark is struck to the underside of one foot.