Museo Galileo
italiano
Virtual Museum
In-depth
Mining instruments
Mining instruments

Most instruments used for surveying work in mines were made in Germany. The specimens at the Museo Galileo of Florence were brought to Tuscany by Prince Mattias de' Medici (1613-1667). These finely chiseled and gilt artifacts included compasses, protractors, squares, magnetic compasses, etc., created for or "adapted" to mine surveying—still a relatively new technique in the sixteenth century. The instruments from Saxony and Tyrol, the birthplace of mining science, were crafted with special attention to their esthetic appearance.