Blaschka Models

These exquisitely detailed models are rendered in glass, then reinforced and coloured with copper wire and painted paper. They are the work of a father and son duo, Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, and created with techniques that have since been lost. The work arose from personal tragedy, when the bereaved Leopold Blaschka travelled by sail from Europe to the United States in 1853. Becalmed off the Azores, he was mesmerised by the bioluminescent sea creatures that he described as a ‘flashlike bundle of light beams’ emerging from the depths. So began a lifelong work he would later conduct alongside his son, creating over 10,000 anatomically perfect models of zoological specimens. The models are considered so significant that out of the 80 million artefacts in the London Natural History Museum, the Blaschka models have been selected for exhibition in their Treasures Collection. A selection of the UCC models is on display here, revealing the beauty of this glass menagerie.