Typology

Collections at the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

D I A N A Z L ATA N O V S K I

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Text © 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College Single object photographs © 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College Typology compilation images © 2020 Diana Zlatanovski Book © 2020 President and Fellows of Harvard College and Scala Arts Publishers, Inc. First published in 2020 by Scala Arts Publishers, Inc. c/o CohnReznick LLP 1301 Avenue of the Americas 10th floor New York, NY 10019 www.scalapublishers.com Scala – New York – London

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In association with Harvard Museums of Science & Culture 26 Oxford Street Cambridge, MA 02138 Distributed outside the Museum in the book trade by ACC Art Books 6 West 18th Street Suite 4B New York, NY 10011 ISBN 978-1-78551-262-9 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Names: Zlatanovski, Diana, author.

Title: Typology : Collections at the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture / Diana Zlatanovski Description: New York : Scala Arts Publishers, Inc., 2020. | Summary: Artifacts and specimens held in the museum cabinets at the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture. Unique photographic essay on the collections—Provided by publisher.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020003133 | ISBN 9781785512629 (paperback) Subjects: Harvard University—Museums. | Science museums—Massachusetts—Exhibitions. | Science museums | Massachusetts—Collection and preservation. | Anthropological museums and collections—Massachusetts. | Harvard University—Catalogs.

Classification: LCC Q105.U52 M37 2020 | DDC 507.4/7444—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020003133 Designed by David Weik and Diana Zlatanovski Printed in China 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the President and Fellows of Harvard College and Scala Arts Publishers, Inc. Frontispiece and back cover: Blue Dragonflies (Pachydiplax longipennis), Museum of Comparative Zoology, uncataloged; Front cover: Blue Dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis), Museum of Comparative Zoology, uncataloged; Sundial (part), Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments, CHSI# 7155; Bowl (Duyu), Ifugao culture, Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology, PM# 08-36-70/5094; Clearwing moth (Clystea leucaspis): Museum of Comparative Zoology, Jacob Doll Collection.

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Mineralogical and Geological Museum at Harvard

Harvard University Herbaria

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East

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Contents

9 13

Foreword Introduction

15 80

Acknowledgements Credits

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology

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64

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Shell Figurines Peru, 1000–1450 AD

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Land Snails, Eastern Europe Collected in the late 1800s

Foreword Typology: Collections at the Harvard Museums of

uniformities and variations. Collections interpreted

Science & Culture presents an intimate and elegant

within the museum context, in concert with study

window into assemblages of like objects from six

and research, can yield new insights and inform our

museum collections within Harvard University’s

understanding of critical issues facing human society,

Faculty of Arts and Sciences: Collection of Historical

from climate change and infectious disease to human

Scientific Instruments, Harvard Museum of the

migration and social change.

Ancient Near East, Harvard University Herbaria, Mineralogical & Geological Museum at Harvard,

In Typology: Collections at the Harvard Museums

Museum of Comparative Zoology, and Peabody

of Science & Culture, Diana Zlatanovski combines

Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology. United through

her broad expertise in museum collections practice

a unique partnership known as the Harvard Museums

with photographic artistry to entice viewers into the

of Science & Culture (HMSC), these museums are

recesses of museum collections. This carefully crafted

the stewards of more than 28 million cultural and

selection and arrangement of objects from various

scientific objects—objects at the heart of research and

HMSC museum collections hints at the wonders they

teaching, as well as an expansive program of public

contain. Zlatanovski’s exquisite photography guides

classes, events, and exhibits.

us to a place of intersection between the museum’s way of constructing and interpreting our world

Collections are what distinguish museums.

The curation of collections—including the careful

and our own understandings and invites them into dialogue.

recording of each object’s context and “stories,” and the arrangement of objects into assemblages—is one important way that museums make meaning from their collections. As museums arrange similar types of objects, they create opportunities for comparison

JA N I S S AC C O

Director of Exhibitions Harvard Museums of Science & Culture

across a broad spectrum of possibilities. They invite a process of closer examination and deeper investigation likely to uncover previously unnoticed

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The colorful labels on these zoological museum jars signify that the invertebrates inside are type specimens.

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Introduction

BY DI A N A Z L ATA NOV S K I

Browsing through an antique market a few years ago, I came across a box full of wrenches. Picking one out of the pile, I didn’t think much about it; I mostly just recognized it as a wrench. Holding a second one, I recognized it as the same tool, but I also noticed that it was a slightly different shape than the first. As I took wrench after wrench out of the box, their variations were soon all I could see: assorted shapes and sizes, a range of textures and colors in their patinas, distinct numbers and letters stamped into the metal. It was seeing the tools laid out side by side that made these details evident—studying collections of like objects invites us to discern variations. This group of antique wrenches became the first collection in my photography project “Typology”—a series focused on object assemblages telling their common story, a tale of similarities and contrasts, sometimes vast, sometimes subtle.

By definition, a typology is an assemblage based on a shared attribute, and looking at each of these collections you can see how they are connected to each other. Groupings of similar objects are visually striking—drawing our eyes to follow a comfortable rhythm through each collection. They also create intrigue and pull us into studying each singular object to see how it differs from the last, and soon we are observing details that might otherwise go unnoticed.

As a museologist and also a photographer, I am attuned to the visual language of objects—elements of their design, whether created by humans or nature, resonate strongly. Surrounded by rows of cabinets, I have spent hours pulling open drawers, browsing hundreds of objects

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Sparrow Nests These nests of the chipping sparrow were collected in New England in the late 1800s. Through systematic observation and data recording, we know that this species of bird typically lays between three and four eggs in a clutch, and its nests are approximately 4 inches in diameter. This set of nests illustrates both of those characteristics perfectly.

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Buntings Color variations in birds often help us distinguish the males and females of a species. The brightest of these rose-bellied or “Rosita’s” buntings are male, while the more understated are either female or juvenile birds. Endemic to a small strip of hills on the Pacific coast of Mexico, these birds are now considered a threatened species due to habitat loss.

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Stone Tools These handaxes from Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania were collected in the 1930s on an archaeological expedition led by anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey. Excavations at Olduvai Gorge, a region inhabited by human ancestors as far back as 2 million years ago, have provided one of the most continuous records of human evolution in East Africa. Studying knapped stone tools, like those shown here, greatly furthers our understanding of stone tool technologies developed by early humans.

Back Aprons (Egbe) Most common in the late 1800s, these back aprons were made by Mangbetu women of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Worn on special occasions, the boldly decorated apron would be positioned at the base of a woman’s spine, covering the buttocks. The women showcased their creativity and artistic talent by producing a wide variety of beautiful geometric patterns for their back aprons, all while using primarily the same raw materials—banana leaves and raffia.

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Credits Mineralogical and Geological Museum at Harvard Elbaite Gems: GEM2387, GEM1539, GEM1537, GEM1535, GEM1543, GEM1862, GEM1436, GEM1452 Fluorite: 117022, 122179, 117426, 121149, 116405, 93204, 117427, 121142, 117138, 124614, 121166, 121148, 117443, 121157, 2010.61

Harvard University Herbaria Angel’s Trumpets (Brugmansia candida): collector numbers 380, 386, 426, 435, 436, 437, 447, 449, 460. The specimens are housed in the Gray Herbarium of Harvard University.

Corn Cobs, Paul Mangelsdorf Special Collection: catalog numbers 1484—1492. The specimens are part of the Botanical Museum of Harvard University.

Harvard Museum of the Ancient Near East Cuneiform Tablets: 1911.10.81, 1911.10.82, 1911.10.253, 1911.10.66, 1911.10.267, 1911.10.252, 1911.10.80, 1911.10.263, 1911.10.250

Mammalogy Ground Squirrels (Citellus tridecemlineatus): Mamm 7714, Mamm 4832, Mamm 19629, Mamm 55461, Mamm 1604, Mamm BANGS-8541, Mamm BANGS-8543, Mamm BANGS8539; Bats (Eptesicus fuscus fuscus): Mamm 41950—55, Mamm 43584 Ornithology Rose-bellied Buntings (Passerina rositae): Orn 238372, Orn 238374—75, Orn 238377—78, Orn 238381—88, Orn 238390—92, Orn 328419—420; White-throated Kingfishers (Halcyon smyrnensis): Orn 267291, Orn 196126—27, Orn 62445—47; Chipping Sparrow Nests (Spizella passerina passerina): Orn 356999, Orn 356938, Orn 356933, Orn 356940, Orn 357089, Orn 356937, Orn 356930—31 Vertebrate Paleontology Fossil Fish (Leptolepis): VP VPF-8026, VP VPF-8047, VP VPF-8090, VP VPF-8112; Bison Jawbones: VP VPM2001—02, VP VPM-2005

Lamps: 1907.64.273, 1907.64.272, 1907.64.270, 1907.64.279, 1907.64.271, 2006.4.10

Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments

Museum of Comparative Zoology

Butterfield Sundials: 7009, 7001, 7001a, 7039, 7006, 7029

Entomology Cicadas (Meimuna kuroiwae): uncataloged; Scarab Beetles (Chrysophora chrysochlora): Rockefeller collection, uncataloged; Weevils (Platyomus): uncataloged; Butterflies (Idea leuconoe): Ent 212368—372, Ent 212374—382 Herpetology Snakes (Ahaetulla nasuta): Herp R-20346—48, Herp R-104536—37, Herp R-25303—04 Ichthyology Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare): Ich 152600 Invertebrate Paleontology Trilobites (Sao hirsute): IP IPAR-5694 Invertebrate Zoology Sea Fan Coral (Melithaea ochracea): IZ CNID-4276; Type Specimen Jars: IZ CNID-2278, IZ 2234, IZ COEL-464, IZ COEL-459, IZ 30758, IZ 30757, IZ 57357, IZ 57364, IZ CRU-6566, IZ CRU-4594, IZ CRU-7389, IZ 89298, IZ 89267, Black Coral (Antipathes picea) syntypes: IZ 153024—25 Malacology Land Snail Shells (Clausilia): uncataloged

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Ivory Slides: 1998-1-0797

Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology Shell Figurines: 46-77-30/6175, 46-77-30/6144 Stone Tools: 36-6-50/1541, 36-6-50/1539.1, 36-6-50/1548.1, 36-6-50/1547 Back Aprons: 30-65-50/H1194.7, 30-65-50/H1194.1, 30-65-50/H1194.5, 30-65-50/H1194.3, 29-4-50/H719.5, 30-65-50/H1194.4 Combs: 09-30-30/75179.1, 11-43-30/82976.1, 11-43-30/82976, 10-58-30/82740.1, 10-58-30/82741, 10-58-30/82740.2, 09-30-30/75179.2, 11-43-30/82976.2 Hopi Plaques: 45-25-10/28495, 45-25-10/28553, 45-25-10/28491, 45-25-10/28497, 45-25-10/28493, 45-25-10/28489, 45-25-10/28490, 45-25-10/28486, 45-25-10/28485, 45-25-10/28481, 45-25-10/28498, 45-25-10/28487, 45-25-10/28496, 45-25-10/28478, 45-25-10/28554, 45-25-10/28504, 45-25-10/28494, 88-51-10/48084B, 45-25-10/28492, 45-25-10/28551, 45-25-10/28552, 45-25-10/28556, 85-11-10-37806, 45-25-10/28500

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