Glass models by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka created near Dresden, Germany in the late 19th century. Photo: Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology

CAMBRIDGE.- 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 March 21, 2008, the Harvard Museum of Natural History opened 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.

“It’s so exciting to have these exquisite glass sculptures on public display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History,” commented Dr. James Hanken, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard. “They are not only beautiful, but anatomically precise and scientifically valuable. They could still serve as teaching models of these invertebrates, which can be so difficult to preserve and display.”

Employing the same techniques used to create the world-famous Glass Flowers, to shape the glass animals, the Blaschkas used standard flame-working methodology, bending over a small alcohol lamp to work glass rods, tubes, and minute pieces of glass. Melted over the heat, the glass was then shaped using simple tools and re-assembled by again heating the glass to fuse the pieces.

The Harvard Museum of Natural History also displays Leopold Blaschka’s well-worn wooden lampworking table, along with his lamp, shears, tweezers, and other tools used to shape the hot glass.

Together with Harvard’s Ware Collection of Glass Models of Plants, with over 3,000 glass flowers, fruits, and plant sections on display, these newly cleaned and restored glass animals now comprise the largest Blaschka collection on display anywhere in the world.

Glass models by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka created near Dresden, Germany in the late 19th century. Photo: Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology