A very handsome French 18th century Louis XVI Period giltwood barometer and Réaumur thermometer. The hand painted dial is fitted with metal hands and framed within a mottled oval giltwood frame. The giltwood frame has a top pierced crown with a central open winged pair of birds amidst a laurel wreath and additional laurel swags on each side. At the bottom are tied draped swags flanking the vertical stem decorated by foliage. No longer in working order and is now purely decorative.  32.25 in L: 19.5 in D: 2.5 in.

The barometer instrument of meteorology was used to measure atmospheric pressure and air temperature, while the thermometer using the Réaumur scale measures temperature using degrees Réaumur (°Ré), with 0° marking the freezing point of water and 80° marking the boiling point. The scale was created by French scientist René-Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur (1683-1757) in 1730. Use of the Réaumur scale was once widespread, but by the late 19th century it had been supplanted by other systems.