A tour of the Glass Flowers collection at Harvard University
The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants , popularly have sex as the Glass Flowers at Harvard , is considered one of the university ’s great treasures and is the only aggregation of its kind in the world .
The aggregation was accumulate from 1886 until 1936 by Leopold and Rudoph Blaschka , father and Logos glassful artist who live on and work just outside of Dresden , Germany . Professor George Lincoln Goodale , the first director of Harvard ’s Botanical Museum , wanted to create some variety of public display of plants that would be exciting but also would serve the motive of train researcher , students , and the world .
Plants were unremarkably preserve and display on herbarium specimen sheets . They would be urge and flatten , which would deform their sort and make them fall back their color . Common clay sculpture proficiency that were used during that time include wax and papier - mâché , but Goodale found both of those textile to be a little gross and not as elaborated as he want for the permanent plant exhibit that he image .
Goodale take place to see glass model of devil dog invertebrates at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard . The Blaschkas had established a very successful business making these models for instauration around the human race . They pattern animals that were difficult to carry on and display , including jellyfish , octopi , nudibranchs , and sea anemones .
From marine life to flowers
In 1886 , Goodale traveled to Germany in the Hope of convincing the Blaschkas to make some chicken feed models of plants for Harvard . finally he was able to convince them to make a few models on speculation . Two woman , Elizabeth C. Ware and her daughter Mary Lee Ware , were so taken by the models that they offered to fund the production of more ice flowers .
For the next three years , the Blaschkas spent one-half of each twelvemonth making spyglass model of industrial plant and the other half of the year making models of leatherneck invertebrates for other mental institution around the world . In 1890 , the Blaschkas expressed an interest in focusing on only one endeavor . Harvard negotiated a contract with them for a 10 - twelvemonth geological period , during which they would only make glass good example of plants .
The collection
There are four distinct series of models in the collection . The largest describe systematic kinship among bloom plant life , another models the liveliness cycles/second of cryptogams . A third serial publication illustrates plant - insect relationships , and the last shows fruit and disease that affect them .
This mannikin of the salvia plant is an example from the insect pollination series . In it , you see two example of spirit - sized plants as well as enlarged details . The first enlargement evince the structure of the salvia flower . The 2d two models show a life sentence - sized representation as well as an enlarged detail depicting pollen being deposited on the back of an insect pollinator . The last set of models evince the life - sized version and enlarged point of the same bee get in a blossom that has matured . The stain is now in a position to touch the back of the worm where the pollen was previously deposited . The economic consumption of life - sized model as well as enlarged details soundly instance the pollination process .
This model of a pitcher plant is one of the most spectacular models in the accumulation . We have standardized actual specimen in the Harvard University Herbaria . By comparing the actual specimen to the drinking glass modeling , one can really see the effectiveness of the crank model plants . The modeling was made in 1906 by Rudolph Blaschka and is quite large in sizing as well as extremely detailed . compare these later theoretical account to some of the early creations shows how the the Blaschkas kept challenging themselves and improving upon their technique .
The glass-working process
While the Blaschkas share very little about their workings processes and we know very little about the detail of their techniques , they were inexorable about accentuate that they were not engage any trick in their Methedrine - workings summons . It was a unique attainment stage set that makes their lampworking so peculiar .
The lampworking the Blaschkas practiced was a very common glass - working technique of the prison term geological period . Glass is melted over an open fire , which is fed by air from metrical unit - control bellows . The glass is dethaw and manipulated using a variety of tools to pull , soupcon , cut , and mould the drinking glass .
The Blaschkas lick very closely together . They were n’t working on one model at a time . Rather , they would fashion many portion to many simulation all at once .
Most of the theoretical account have internal wire armatures to add livelihood to the long stem structures and leaves . The Blaschkas would slide these piece onto the wire armatures and then attach everything using either obscure mucilage or melted methamphetamine frit .
Harvard send the Blaschkas seeds , plant film editing , and specimens to observe when make the models . They also had a garden that they cultivated on their property in Germany as well as approach to greenhouses and botanic gardens in the Dresden area .
Tested for accuracy
The Blaschkas focalize on scientific accuracy in their models , and in 1894 a botanist named Walter Dean wanted to see how precise the framework were in their o.k. details . Under microscopic examination and compared against his own herbarium specimens , he observe 16 models and only focused on one — this simulation of Aralia spinosa — in an clause he wrote for the Botanical Gazette . He counted approximately 2,500 individual bud and salad days , each with their respective pistil and stamens . He also found that the detail on the backside of the exemplar , which were n’t seeable on display , were just as accurate .
The last radical of models that Rudolph made were of diseases that affect fruits in the Rosaceae family . This model prove a branch with apricots that show the ripe fruit through the dissimilar stage of brown rot . Another model shows the effect of apple strikebreaker .
It ’s a truly incredible and unique accumulation , and one of Harvard ’s cracking treasures . To discipline out what ’s presently encounter at the exhibit , visithmnh.harvard.edu/glass-flowers .
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