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brass, glass, wood
The mid 20th century Goethe barometer, mounted on a solid mahogany board, embodies a remarkable harmony of nature and human craftsmanship, where the refinement of material meets unparalleled precision. The 42-centimeter mahogany board seems to hold a restrained power, emanating a subtle warmth from within. On its dark, time-soaked surface, polished brass elements glimmer, like a primal fire — each detail gleaming against the wood's richness. A brass bowl extends into an engraved register plate, where the lustrous golden reflections of brass bring to mind the precious sunlight piercing through an ancient forest.
From a delicate brass hook hangs a glass vessel, suspended as if by the lightest touch. Its rounded body flows gracefully into a spout, reminiscent of an antique teapot, from which, during moments of brewing storm, droplets fall slowly, like beads of ancient wisdom responding to nature’s turbulence. Inside the barometer lies the essence of this marvel — distilled water, sometimes transparent and calm, sometimes tinted with a cool blue that mirrors the depths of a distant ocean, touched only by the first light of dawn.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the eminent German writer and naturalist, played a key role in popularising this weather glass in Germany, although, as it turns out, he was not its inventor. Goethe studied the device around 1792–1793, showing a pronounced interest in meteorology. After his death in 1832, a glass vessel filled with water was found in the bedroom of his house on Frauenplan in Weimar and was identified as a weather glass.
In the catalogue “Goethe’s Collection”, this object is also listed in the section “Physical Objects,” where it is described as follows: “Pear-shaped glass, flat on one side and convex on the other, with a pouring tube”.
In Goethe’s diary entry dated 5 March 1828, one finds the note: “Today, during the course of the day, I observed the water thermometer”.
Since barometers were little known in Germany at the time, and Goethe himself was a celebrated public figure, the device became associated with his name and came to be known as the Goethe barometer.
This historical object proved so appealing as an item of everyday culture that the Goethe Museum in Germany sold it as a souvenir. Based on the example from Goethe’s house in Jena, a historical replica of the weather glass was produced from 1982 onwards by Jenaer Glaswerke GmbH. This was a legendary glass manufacturer that had been producing standardised laboratory and instrument glass as early as the nineteenth century. Such glass was used as a reference material for precision measuring instruments: thermometers, barometers, pressure gauges, hydrometers, and the like. It is known that Jena glass was used by Lambrecht at its factories.
This barometer transcends its function as a mere measuring device; it is an aesthetic act, leaving its mark in both science and art. It is a symbol of the era’s enduring push, gauging the world through a lens of beauty and refined purpose.
