Bronze Celestial Globe - FF.129, Origin: Central Asia, Circa: 1884 AD, Dimensions: 6" (15.2cm) high, Collection: Islamic Art, Medium: Bronze. From early antiquity, many great civilizations, such as the Greek, Islamic, and Chinese, have attempted to model the earth’s movements along with its visible stars and other celestial bodies. These models were usually done in the form of celestial globes, astrolabes and armillary spheres. They were all based on an imaginary model where the earth is in the centre, and an outer sphere of stars and celestial bodies move around the earth. These models were built using the vast knowledge of astronomy and planetary movement passed down from antiquity. The models provided a very good way of representing the very complicated movement of the bodies.

Antiquities
Ancient Near East