huge glass ball jar / globe vintage industrial apparatus lab glass orb round bottle

We love this huge heavy old glass globe jar, though we're not sure of it's original purpose! It's a real attention-getter, and it's in very good condition without chips or cracks.

It's about 10" across (roughly 30" circumference), 17" tall from the bottom of the globe to the top of the bottle neck. The top is flared and ground, probably for a large tubing? It's about 4" across the widest part of the fitter.