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Lot Essay
Paulus Wast (Bern 1721 - Amsterdam 1784) was born as Paolo Quasti in Bern in 1721. In 1741, he settles in Amsterdam as an aprentice to Frans Primavesi in the Dijkstraat. On 24 May 1744, he marries to Anna Catherina Bregers in de Oude Kerk. They had two sons, Paulus (born 1745) en Pieter (born 1752). Circa 1750 Paulus must have started his own business and around the same time he probably changed his name judging from the signatures he used on the barometers. On 21 November 1758, he placed an advertisement in de Amsterdamsche Courant: Paulus Wast, woond t' Amsterdam op de hoek van de Nes en de Langenbrugsteeg, in 'de Gekroonde Baromeeter', maakt, verkoopt en repareert alle zoorten van Weerglazen, 't zij Baromeeters of Termomeeters, tot allerley gebruiken, als ook tot Broeybakken, alles volgens de accuaatste schaalen; recommandeerde een ieder, zig te wagten voor zulke persoonen, die zig uitgeven voor of van hem te komen, en verzoekt een ieders gunnst. From 1760 onwards Paulus jr. assists his father and from than the signature Paulus Wast en Zoon. te Amsterdam appears. On 8 September 1784 Paulus Wast was burried in the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam
It is possible to date the oeuvre of father and son Wast with an accuracy of a few years. Barometers signed Paulus Wast are executed between ca. 1745 and ca. 1765. The earliest known barometer signed by both father and son dates from 1765. Barometers signed Paulus Wast en Zoon were made circa 1765 or later. A few examples are signed Paulus Wast en Zoon(en). These must be from circa 1780.
A virtually identical barometer is in the collection of the Frans Halsmuseum in Haarlem (J.L.H.J.M. van der Ven, Paulus Wast: een Meester-Barometermaker (1721-1784), Antiek, 16de jrg., no. 7, feb. 1982, pp. 426-435).
See illustration
It is possible to date the oeuvre of father and son Wast with an accuracy of a few years. Barometers signed Paulus Wast are executed between ca. 1745 and ca. 1765. The earliest known barometer signed by both father and son dates from 1765. Barometers signed Paulus Wast en Zoon were made circa 1765 or later. A few examples are signed Paulus Wast en Zoon(en). These must be from circa 1780.
A virtually identical barometer is in the collection of the Frans Halsmuseum in Haarlem (J.L.H.J.M. van der Ven, Paulus Wast: een Meester-Barometermaker (1721-1784), Antiek, 16de jrg., no. 7, feb. 1982, pp. 426-435).
See illustration