From Glass Eyes To Glass Flowers, The Incredible Artistic Flowers Of Glass At Harvard

 1 glass flower bouquet Blaschka Harvard Ware 

It has been said at least once that the best of Mozart’s music was like the very voice of God. If that is true then these incredible glass flowers are likewise wondrous, like a creation by Gods own hands and eyes. They are that special, in many peoples’ opinion, including my own. The detail and color and true to life form are unbelievable, nearly other worldly. The most often heard comment in the museum, when the flowers are seen for the first time is: “where are the glass flowers?” Most first time viewers cannot really believe that the Blaschka flowers are not real. “They can’t be made of glass” is another comment heard frequently. The detail is astounding, according to many botanists. One model of the Angelica plant and flower has over 2,500 buds and blossoms. That is not a misprint. Some of the cacti have hundreds of spines or needles. Oohs and aahs are often audible in the glass flower viewing area as well. This reaction is even more remarkable because these  glass flowers have been on display in the Harvard Museum of Natural History for no less that 74 years (the latest flowers added) to as long as 123 years (the earliest glass flowers added to the display). Unfortunately there has been some “glass disease” in the soda-lime glass used by the artists. And some dust particles and dirt cannot be removed totally without a risk of damage to the fragile plant parts.  Despite this deterioration there is nothing today to match the present beauty and detail of these stunning artistic flowers of glass.

 The Harvard Museum of Natural History’s collection of extremely detailed models of flowers (and stems and leaves) is made of colored and (some) painted glass. In the display are over 800 models of life-size plants or flowers representing about 780 species and nearly 165 plant families.  Altogether there are over 4000 models including details of enlarged flowers and sections of vegetative parts. There are intricate glass models showing pollination details of many plants, as well. All of this remarkable display was created by just two men,  Leopold Blaschka and his son Rudolph. This entire display at Harvard is known as the Ware Collection. A generous donation by Elizabeth Ware and her daughter Mary (about 1886) made it possible for the Harvard Natural History Museum, under director Professor Goodale, to commission the Blaschkas to create these glass flower models. For nearly 50 years Leopold and Rudolf (Blaschka) furnished the glass models to Harvard. After Leopold’s death in 1895 Rudolph continued alone making the glass flowers until about 1936, several years before he died.                                                

The exact method(s) used to create the models was never fully revealed by the Blaschkas, although broad hints were given out. The elder Blaschka (Leopold) said that many people think we have some secret apparatus by which we can squeeze glass suddenly into these forms, but it is not so. Instead, we have tact, he said. I think he meant skill and patience, or perhaps the word “tact” was used differently or had a different meaning before 1900 than it has today. Leopold also said that to have great skill in artistic glass creation one must have a whole line of glass artist ancestors, starting with at least your great-grandfather, and continuing through your father. The Blaschkas themselves had this ancestry to their apparent benefit! The actual technique they used was not actually “supernatural” or miraculous. Although their skill was incredible the glass flowers were created by their hands, not Gods. The process they used is thought to have been mainly “lampworking”, a technique involving heating bits of glass over a flame. Modern glass artists use this process to create lovely glass beads and other glass art.

Many years before he began making flowers, Leopold Blaschka made and sold glass eyes. He also made glass beakers, test-tubes, and beads.  Somewhat later he made models of marine creatures (jellyfish, octopi, squid, etc.). These glass models were also extremely detailed and lifelike. These glass creatures were widely admired and contributed greatly to his (and his sons) fame. The sea animals were sold to museums all over the world.  Viewing the glass marine creatures eventually led Professor Goodale (of Harvard) to request that they (the Blaschkas) create some glass flower models. The beauty and exquisite detail of those flowers created the desire in Goodale and the Wares to start and enlarge the Harvard glass flower collection into the remarkable display it is today. In final tribute to the Blashkas I give you this quote : (their work is) “An artistic marvel in the field of science and a scientific marvel in the field of art.”

2CactiMapleFlowerBlashkaHarvardHerbalGramFlickerH.Burger

Enjoy the pictures! Jerry (webmaster CraftingGlass.com)

What Is the Difference Between Stained Glass And “Painted Glass” (Or Is There Any Real Difference)?

The glass vase looked beautiful, I thought. I was at a flea market vendors booth years ago just looking at glassware to buy for my wife. At the time I was a real novice in glass (speaking broadly about all categories of glass knowledge, such as collecting, art glass, and glass crafting). I didn’t buy the vase right away but vowed to come back later to buy it unless I found “something better”. In talking to a friendly vendor at another booth I found out that a buyer must be cautious because some glassware items have the color painted on with a chemical solution which is then fired to make it “permanent” on the glass. This process is called “staining” the glass. I later found that some collectors, and even some dealers, call this technique “flashing” although that is not really the correct name. Whatever name it is called, the problem with glassware made by this technique is that the thin chemical coating (or “paint”) can wear off in time with a lot of handling and washing. Needless to say, I did not buy the vase that the first dealer had for sale! So keep in mind that when talking about collectible glass pieces, such as a vase, the techniques of Flashing, Casing, and Plating are separate layers of glass applied to the piece and that Stain is a painted on coating.

Now we will talk about Stained Glass Windows. They are a different animal from the collectible glass mentioned above! Stained glass windows have a history over a thousand years old! From what I can learn of the early times it appears that most of the medieval windows were made by painting a special mixture containing tiny glass particles (frit) over the desired piece of glass and then firing the glass and “paint” in a kiln to fix the painted design on to the glass piece. Most, but not all, modern stained glass windows are made with a different method. This later technique involves cutting a clear or colored glass to fit in a part of a pattern drawn on tracing paper or similar material. The glass piece is normally not painted. It is used “as is”. Its shape and color make it part of the design. The glass piece is then held in place in the window by lead or copper foil and solder. For a little more information look at my glossary terms below. The glossary for Crafting Glass may be found on the upper left side of this web page. Thanks for visiting, Jerry (webmaster, craftingglass.com)

STAINED GLASS – Commonly used to describe any colored flat glass or any object made of such glass joined by metal strips. The term originally applied to colored or clear flat glass cut to fit an artist’s design, on which details were painted in pigment with a brush. The glass pieces were then heated in a kiln or oven to bond the pigment to the glass surface. This firing makes the painted detail as durable and permanent as the glass itself. Most religious windows from medieval times until this century were executed in this manner, and so the term came to be used first for any architectural application, and then for any design in colored flat glass. It is now universally accepted as a convenient general term to define the art, the craft, and the industry

PAINTED GLASS – Glass on which special paints (containing frit) have been applied in illustration or decorative pattern and then heated in a kiln to a temperature high enough to fuse the pigments permanently to the glass surface. The modern version of the original medieval “stained glass.”