Uploaded January 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Elizabeth R. Brill, Sea Creatures Preservation Specialist
David O. Brown, Photographer and Filmmaker
Gonzalo Giribet, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
James Hanken, Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator in Herpetology, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, and Director, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard University to make the famed Glass Flowers, father and son artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka meticulously shaped glass into lifelike models of marine and terrestrial animals. Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka invertebrate models were commissioned by universities and museums throughout the world during the nineteenth century. In celebration of the publication of Sea Creatures in Glass: The Blaschka Marine Animals at Harvard, this program will highlight the history, artistry, conservation, and relevance of Harvard’s collection of 430 invertebrate models to marine science today.
Elizabeth R. Brill, Sea Creatures Preservation Specialist
David O. Brown, Photographer and Filmmaker
Gonzalo Giribet, Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator of Invertebrate Zoology, and Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
James Hanken, Professor of Biology, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology; Curator in Herpetology, Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology, and Director, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University
Many years before they were commissioned by Harvard University to make the famed Glass Flowers, father and son artists Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka meticulously shaped glass into lifelike models of marine and terrestrial animals. Renowned for their beauty and exacting detail, the Blaschka invertebrate models were commissioned by universities and museums throughout the world during the nineteenth century. In celebration of the publication of Sea Creatures in Glass: The Blaschka Marine Animals at Harvard, this program will highlight the history, artistry, conservation, and relevance of Harvard’s collection of 430 invertebrate models to marine science today.
