Object of the Month: August 2026

• Object name: Models of sea anemones
• Collection: Zoology
• Date made: 1800s
• Credit: Gift of the Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society

Chosen by Rex Wale, Collections Access Officer

Leopold Blaschka (1822–1895) was a glassworker from what is now Czechia, who became known for creating lifelike glass models of sea anemones.

His detailed creations offered museums an attractive alternative to displaying preserved specimens, which quickly lost their shape and colour. These examples came to Leicester Museum in 1866.

Demand for his work grew, and by 1877 his son and only apprentice Rudolf (1857–1939) joined the business. Together they made and shipped glass models of anemones, jellyfish, and octopuses, to museums all over the world.

This stopped in 1890 when they agreed to make models of plants and flowers exclusively for Harvard University, USA.

The Object of the Month can be seen in person throughout August 2026 at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.