In the 1850s Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert acquired a series of zinc cast statues based on originals from the antique for the gardens at Osborne House, their summer residence in the Isle of Wight. The statues were cast by the Berlin founders M. Geiss, who exhibited a bronzed zinc cast of stags in the 1851 Great Exhibition in London that were purchased by Prince Albert.

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert acquired eleven zinc statues from M Geiss for Osborne House and these included Urania, Euterpe, L’Adorant, Ganymede, Venus of Capua, Meleager, Bacchus, Venus de Medici, Ceres, Medea and Venus d’Arles.

This statue represents Urania, muse of astronomy and one of the nine goddesses of creative inspiration and companions of Apollo. She is depicted wearing a long tunic with draperies falling over her shoulder and holding a compass and a globe, her common attributes.

It was presented by Prince Albert to Queen Victoria as a Christmas gift in 1858.