Part of German celestial goblet globe, GLB0177. Repro ID D7949-5 © NMM
(Click image to enlarge) This goblet globe is a 19th-century copy of a 17th-century globe. It was made using a technique called 'electroforming'. Electroforming was developed in the 19th century to make exact copies of metal objects using electrolysis (passing electric current through a special kind of liquid). Often this was done so that the original globe could be preserved, leaving the copy to be studied and handled. Close-up of Ursa Major (Great Bear) from the globe Many people wanted copies of these globes. Most were made of copper and had markings to show everyone that they were copies. However, this one does not have these markings, which means it is a fake made to be sold as the real thing. Fakes like this tell us a great deal about how these instruments began to be seen as works of art to be admired rather than used for science.