In many Roman Catholic countries, saints are venerated by building or acquiring a statue and placing a crown on its head. The saint whose statue this crown was intended for is unknown. The Maltese cross on the top of the crown points to the Order of St. John the Baptist and the military order the Knights of Hospitaller.  This leads one to hypothesize that the crown was intended for a statue of St. John, the patron saint of both orders.  That this cross appears on top of a sphere appears to be a visual prayer that Christ, Christians, and Christianity dominate the world.