Harvard Museum of Natural History
Location26 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA, USA
Type(s) of establishment
Type Permanent natural history collection
Collection Blaschka Glass Flowers
Harvard Museum of Natural History, Cambridge, MA, USA.
The Glass Flowers, formally The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, is a famous collection of highly realistic glass botanical models that is on permanent display at the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
The collection comprises approximately 4,300 individual glass models, representing more than 830 plan species. It was created by glass artisans Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, a father and son team of Czech glass artists.
The Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants is considered one of the University's greatest treasures and is the only collection of its kind in the world.
Challenge
The glass flowers are extremely sensitive to vibrations and should be handled as little as possible.
In addition, as most of the Blaschka materials are difficult to clean because of surface coatings and fragility, they should be completely protected from dust.
Our Solutions
New display cases were created with a smooth hinged opening and a fully climate-controlled and dust-proof exhibit chambers.
Vibration-free display surfaces were provided in combination with a slanted glass top to prevent visitors from leaning on top of the displays or placing objects onery.
A gorgeous and rich wood finish was added to keep the rustic ambience and to match other existing cases within the gallery.
A gorgeous and rich wood finish was added to keep the rustic ambience and to match other existing cases within the gallery.
