Sea Creatures in Glass

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New exhibition features dozens of models of marine creatures created by Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, whose world famous "Glass Flowers" are also on display at Harvard.

Sea Creatures in Glass, first Cambridge exhibition of Harvard’s Blaschka glass animals, opens March 21 at Harvard Museum of Natural History

Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard University to make the “Glass Flowers,” father and son artists Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka meticulously shaped glass and wire into lifelike models of marine animals. Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka marine invertebrate models were commissioned by universities and museums throughout world during the 19th century.
On Friday, March 21, 2008, the Harvard Museum of Natural History will open Sea Creatures in Glass. This new exhibition features dozens of these spectacular glass animals – many on display for the first time since Harvard acquired them around 1878 – drawn from the collection of over 430 marine models. Delicate jellyfish and anemones, tentacled squid, bizarre sea slugs or nudibranchs, and other soft-bodied sea creatures captured in glass are a sparkling testament to the Blaschka legacy. Combined with video, real scientific specimens, a recreation of the Blaschka’s studio, and a rich assortment of memorabilia, these models of marine invertebrates offer intriguing insights into the history, personality, and artistry of the extraordinary men who created them. Sea Creatures in Glass will be on display through January 4, 2009.