Indulge the botanical geek in you by visiting Harvard Museum’s exhibit, “The Glass Flowers”. The collection is blessed with over 4000 accurate glass models of plants by Rudolph and Leopold Blaschka.
Here are the Harvard Museum’s FAQ’s on the Glass Flowers:
Are they really glass?
Yes, the models are made entirely of glass often reinforced internally with a wire support.
Who made the Glass Flowers?
The models were created by father and son Leopold and Rudolph Blaschka, nineteenth century glass artisans who perfected their family craft. Their lineage of jewelers and glassmakers trace as far back as the fifteenth century.
How were the models made?
The parts were shaped after the glass was softened by heat. Some models were blown. Colored glass was used for many, others were “cold painted” with a thin wash of colored ground glass or metal oxide(s) and heated until the material fused to the model.
When were they made?
The models were made from 1887 through 1936.
Where were the Glass Flowers made?
The Blaschkas’ studio was located in Hosterwitz, near Dresden, Germany.
Why were the models made?
Professor George Lincoln Goodale, founder of the Botanical Museum, wanted life-like representatives of the plant kingdom for teaching botany. At the time only crude papier-maché or wax models were available.
The life-size models include 847 species, with remarkably accurate anatomical sections and enlarged flower parts. Since the Glass Flowers are always in bloom, tropical and temperate species may be studied year-round.
Mrs. Elizabeth C. Ware and her daughter Mary Lee Ware financed the collection and presented it to Harvard University as a memorial to Dr. Charles Eliot Ware, Class of 1834.