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IN 1884, Leopold Blaschka donated a glass model of the octopus Eledone moschata to the National Museum in Prague (inv. no. P6M 29106). According to the museum's records, his gift included four models: no. 36, Anthea cereus v. maxima (sea anemone); no. 224, Aurelia aurita (jellyfish); no. 235, Pelagia noctiluca (jellyfish); and no. 553, the octopus. The gift was delivered by the dealer and Blaschka agent Vaclav Prie (1839-1916), whose brother, Antonín Prie (1832-1913), worked as a curator of the museum's zoological and paleontological collections.1
Leopold Blaschka (1822-1895) came from a family with a long glassmaking tradition.2 He initially worked with his father, producing glass eyes and costume jewelry assembled from metal and glass components. Later, he also started to make flameworked laboratory equipment. When his son, Rudolf (1857-1939), was born, he began to create models of plants. In 1863, the family moved from Böhmisch Aicha, Bohemia, to Dresden, Germany, where Leopold started to specialize in models of invertebrate animals. He combined his familiar lampworking and costume jewelry techniques with sophisticated cold working to produce detailed, lifelike models. His early models were based on illustrations published in books on natural history, and they are less detailed than their later counterparts.
Rudolf studied natural science and especially marine life, and in 1876, he joined his father's business. The Blaschkas constantly refined their working methods. To ensure correct interpretation in their models, they studied specimens preserved in alcohol and later maintained marine animals in seawater aquariums. They also created a large number of reference drawings. In 1890, they abandoned their production of zoological models to concentrate full-time on botanical models for Harvard University.
They made invertebrate models primarily of flameworked glass components, which were assembled with the use of metal wires and adhesives. The Blaschkas also employed a variety of other materials, including binding media for paints, texture coatings, and fillers. Among the materials that have been found on the models are animal glue, gelatin, natural resins, waxes, plaster, paper, and what has been referred to as a proteinaceous substance that was used to make the thin skin between the arms of an octopus. For coloring, the glassmakers chose enamels or cold paints.3 They also employed colored glass and pigmented wax.
Eledone moschata, the musky octopus, is...