Harvard's Glass Flowers: A Case Study in Traveling a Fragile Collection

Abstract

In the year 2000, a selection of the Ware Collection of Blaschka Glass Models of Plants, popularly known as the Glass Flowers, were loaned by Harvard University to the 2000 French National Millennium exhibition La Beauté in Avignon. This paper will present an overview of the history of the Glass Flowers and their creators, the materials, techniques and methods of fabrication, and a brief discussion of the conservation of the collection, before broaching the topic of traveling them. Aside from the inherent conservation challenges and unique packing problems presented by the fragile models, there were compromises and decisions to be made among collections manager, curator, and conservator. This paper touches on one international venue, La Beauté, to explicate the problems faced in packing and transporting a select group of 22 Glass Flower models, the lessons learned, and the subsequent successful outcome.

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