Glass Sea Creatures Emerge Out of Deep Storage

The word “glass” often evokes images of beautiful, vibrantly colored pieces of art, but “Sea Creatures and Glass: Marine Invertebrate Models of Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka,” up at the Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) through next January, offers a different type of appeal. The glass sea creatures, like their live counterparts, range from pastel-colored to dull shades of brown, remaining true to the features of the species they depict.

The collection of over 400 creatures, from sea anemones to sea cucumbers, has belonged to the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) since the late 1800s but has not been shown at Harvard until now. Since the MCZ does not have any exhibition space, it has a collaborative relationship with the HMNH, where 50 of the models made their debut on March 21.

Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka, a German father and son pair, are better known for their extensive collection of glass flowers, which is on permanent display in the HMNH, which the glass sea creatures predate. Originally, museums and universities could purchase specific models out of Ward’s Catalogue for teaching and educational purposes. The exhibit displays a copy of the catalogue along with the Blaschkas’ worktable an d a summary of basic techniques used to create the models.

The collection holds a significant place among scholars because of the lifelike quality of the renderings. “They are an accurate depiction of species rarely seen by humans with artistic and biological appeal reflected in the beautiful glasswork technique and striking scientific accuracy,” says Dr. Linda S. Ford, Manager of Collections Operations at the MCZ. The models are also more practical than preserved specimens because they maintain their shape long aftert the organic remains would have decayed.

The creation of the exhibit involved many hours of meticulous labor in order to restore the creatures and prepare them for display. The failure of the original glue used to hold the models together after over a century was one of the largest obstacles the organizers faced. The MCZ hired Elizabeth Brill, a glassworker, to clean the models and repair glue failures, reattaching separated fragments.

Ford also notes that the MCZ did not clean with any solvents because some of the detailing on the models consisted of materials such as paint and egg whites that would surely be destroyed in the process.

Additionally, the display of the creatures meant detailed planning to ensure that they would remain in the best conditions possible. The HMNH and MCZ collaborated on the details of the display, working out issues such as temperature and humidity requirements. Lighting also proved particularly challenging, as they had to balance enhancing the aesthetics of the exhibit and strict rules in place to prevent further deterioration of the objects.

The HMNH says it is excited about the opportunity to debut the previously glass creatures. “Part of the mission is to showcase Harvard collections such as this one which has never before been showcased in Cambridge. This is a jewel of a collection and we are absolutely thrilled to present it to the public,” says Elisabeth Werby, Executive Director of the HMNH.

As for future plans regarding the collection, the MCZ hopes to begin an extensive restoration project to repair glue on the models and create custom cabinetry to house the creatures. They also plan to produce high-quality digital images of all the specimens that can be viewed in an online specimen database, according to Dr. James Hanken, director of the MCZ.

In the meantime, the public can catch a preview of the extensive collection at the new exhibit in the HMNH. Hanken is pleased with the positive response the show has already received from the public. “Indeed, within days of its opening we began receiving complaints from viewers who insisted that we find a way to keep at least some of these specimens on permanent public display,” he writes in an email. “They feel that these specimens are too important and too visually striking not to be maintained on public display in perpetuity!”