Smithsonian.com

Under the black light, the Butterfly Brooch shows off a whole separate array of fluorescent colors. Photo by Donald Hurlbert, Smithsonian

Cindy Chao knew, with more than 2,300 gems of diamonds, rubies and tsavorite garnets, her butterfly brooch was masterpiece of craftsmanship. Made in 2009, the brooch found its way to the cover of Women’s Wear Daily–the first piece of jewelry ever to do so in 100 years. Known for her wearable works of art, Chao had made a name for herself as the first Taiwanese jeweler included at a Christie’s auction in 2007, and her work even debuted on the Hollywood red carpet.

Now her butterfly brooch comes to the Natural History Museum’s Gems and Minerals collection as the first piece designed by a Taiwanese artist. Small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and brilliant enough to illuminate a room. The brooch packs a punch. But it also packs a surprise.

From left to right, Director Kirk Johnson, Artist Cindy Chao and Curator Jeffrey Post unveil the brooch as press look on. Photo by Leah Binkovitz

Curator Jeffrey Post says he was compelled by his ongoing interest in the optical behaviors of diamonds to put the piece under ultraviolet light, and the ensuing light show was nothing short of spectacular. The diamonds and sapphires fluoresced, glowing neon in the dark. “When we saw all these fluorescing diamonds, all these different colors, it was just the whipped cream on top of the cake,” says Post, “It was just the most wonderful surprise.”

Chao, meanwhile, had never seen this phenomenon. “When Dr. Post showed it to me under the ultraviolet light, I was shocked because he thought I did it on purpose.” An artist influenced by her father’s career as both an architect and sculptor, Chao cares about the craft of jewelry-making and working with unique materials. She calls the fluorescent reaction a natural miracle. Now, she says, “I check everything under the ultraviolet light.”

Front and back views of the piece show its detailed design. Photos by Cindy Chao

A symbol of metamorphosis, the butterfly speaks to Chao’s own transformation from jeweler to artist. While she’s had great success in the market (her pieces command any where from $15,000 for a ring and nearly $1 million for a brooch), she says earning a spot in the Smithsonian was a great honor as an artist. She hopes to pass on her lessons to students who share her passion for the craft of jewelry-making.

The brooch also speaks to the natural metamorphosis each gemstone undergoes. “Every gemstone,” says Post, “including this butterfly, starts out as a mineral crystal that forms, and only the best and most perfect of those mineral crystals are transformed into gemstones.” Post says that the incredibly detailed design of the brooch, which mimics the microstructure and scale of a living butterfly’s wings, speaks to the piece’s rarified quality. “The other side of the butterfly is just as beautiful as the front and that’s how you know, this is really a masterpiece creation,” he says.

Johnson and Chao show off the newest donation to the gems collection. Photo by Leah Binkovitz

Johnson, Chao and Post pose with the brooch. Photo by Leah Binkovitz

Chao holds her creation in its natural habitat. Photo by Brittany Hance

Joining the recent Dom Pedro donation, as well as the famed Hope Diamond, the piece will brooch in the Hall of Gems and Minerals. Its donation also marks the fifth anniversary of the museum’s Butterfly Pavilion.

These two ladies are on their way to the Smithsonian to celebrate woman’s history month. Photo by Percival Bryan, courtesy of the Anacostia Community Museum

Women in jazz, women in science, women in the arts, women were everywhere. Even in the days when women were supposed to just be in the kitchen, they were busy making history. And this month at the Smithsonian, a month-long celebration of those women kicks off with the American History’s exhibit on the 100th anniversary of the Woman Suffrage Parade.

Get the full schedule of films, lectures and events here, but check out these highlights:

LECTURE The Scientist is In

Museum specialist at the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Ruth Gibbons, discusses deepwater biodiversity surveys of an extinct undersea volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. Volcanos, oceans and deepwater diving, now that’s the life. March 6, Natural History Museum, 1 pm-2 pm.

Jazz star Carmen McRae, courtesy of Wikimedia

PERFORMANCE Rhythm Cafe: The Life and Mastery of Carmen McRae

Good friends with her musical inspiration Billie Holliday, Carme McRae sang one Lady Day song at each performance she gave. Nonetheless, the jazz musician born to Jamaican parents in Harlem carved out her identity with witty interpretations and star-studded collaborations. Mikaela Carlton, of the Howard University Vocal Music Department, will talk about jazz pioneer McRae’s life and achievements and the Carmen McRae Tribute Band will provide the tunes. March 10, Anacostia Community Museum, 2 pm-4 pm. Free, but space is limited, RSVP.

Looks simple enough, but wait until you see through a female lens. Courtesy of the American Art Museum

TOUR America “Through a Female Lens”

A domestic scene of family life may seem a quaint setting for a traditional painting, but there’s more to art than meets the eye. Learn how works, from colonial paintings to contemporary pieces, can be seen through “a female lens” with this tour at the American Art Museum. March 14 and March 21, 12:30 pm.

FILM Rebel: Loreta Velazquez and the Role of Women in the American Civil War

How did a Cuban woman raised in New Orleans become a spy for the Confederate army and even fight at Bull Run? That’s the question behind this documentary that traces the life a woman many believed to be a hoax.  The screening will be followed by a broader discussion of women in the Civil War with director and producer Mari Agui Carter, as well as scholars Virginia Sanchez Korrol, Margaret Vining, and Catherine Clinton. March 28, American History Museum, 6 pm.

ONLINE MATERIALS

If you can’t make it to the Smithsonian, then take advantage of its online resources with guides to the Seneca Falls Convention, women inventors (fitting, since this year’s theme is “Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination“), African American female artists and more.

Naseer Shamma, world-renowned ‘ud (lute) player, performs at the Freer Gallery this with the Al-Oyoun ensemble Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Photo by Ahmed Abd El-fatah, courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons.

Tuesday, March 5: Is This Art?

Contemporary art isn’t always the easiest to understand. What does an odd-shaped sculpture or a painting of a bunch of lines say about the world, and why should we care? This series of gallery talks, facilitated by museum staff members, introduces viewers to some of the American Art Museum’s provocative contemporary works and explores different ways of interpreting them. Debate encouraged! Free. 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. American Art Museum.

Wednesday, March 6: Le Cuisine de Quebec: Exploring the Passion and Depth of Québec’s Emerging Microbreweries

Québec, home to more than 100 microbreweries, has risen to international fame in the beer world in recent decades. The city’s brews are known for their diverse styles and fusion of disparate European traditions. Sylvain Bouchard has helped the city win this reputation; as head sommelier at the city’s most iconic brewery, Unibroue, for more than a decade, he has pioneered the use of ancient brewing European methods to produce new flavors. This evening, as part of the 2013 Francophonie Cultural Festival, Bouchard explains Québec’s burgeoning microbrewery movement and introduces the range of its products. A tasting and pairing of cheeses and other Québec treats follows his presentation. $30 general admission, $25 members. 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Natural History Museum.

Thursday, March 7: Naseer Shamma’s Al-Oyoun Ensemble concert

Naseer Shamma, one of the Arab world’s ‘ud (lute)-playing superstars (see him in action here), returns to America for the first time in ten years this evening to perform new arrangements of classical Arab music. Shamma is a native of Iraq and a devoted teacher; he developed a method of playing the ‘ud with one hand for children wounded in the Iraq War. He will be accompanied by the Al-Oyoun ensemble, a cairo-based orchestra that includes violins, flutes, bass and percussion. Free tickets required. 7:30 p.m., with a museum tour of the “Arts of the Islamic World” at 6:45 p.m. Freer Gallery.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.

Is that real? It’s one of the most frequent questions I hear when I guide visitors through our museum, and admittedly, I stumble. Yes, sometimes it is the real thing, in rock, bone, fur or flesh. But often what you see on display is a replica of an actual specimen, or an amalgam of real bits along with creative layers of plaster and paint—embellishments from a less discerning era in museum curation. Even today, we unfortunately don’t identify these distinctions clearly to visitors, in favor of “making it look good.”

So, what’s the difference between a replica and the real thing? The answer seems pretty straightforward if you deal with one-of-a-kind specimens, like at a museum: there’s an original object; and then there are facsimiles—copies—made from silicone or latex molds or, these days, 3D prints from digital scans (see video, above). Sometimes copies are made for exhibit, or for research exchanges. Or, if the original specimen is too fragile (or unwieldy), high precision replicas are preferred for measurements or side-by-side comparisons.

The real thing: This fossil whale, as it was found, on location at Cerro Ballena, Chile. Now, specimen number 678, in the collections of the Museo Paleontologico de Caldera. Photo by V. Rossi / Smithsonian Digitization Program Office 3D Lab

By making copies, museums function in the same way as a library. Though this analogy falls apart if you consider the increasing rate that books are being sold and process digitally. What happens when an entire book—its cover, binding, marginalia and type—gets digitized and made searchable? What’s a physical book then, other than a doorstop? While the searchable digitized book can be a useful tool, happily, the real thing still does matter: to researchers following the historical trail of a book’s age, owner or reader; or just as a work of art. Ask an antiquarian book seller. As a consequence, there’s a need for places like libraries or the Smithsonian, to archive and protect the real deal.

A scale model replica of MPC 678, made as a hand-held 3D print. Photo by A. Metallo/ Smithsonian Digitization Program Office 3D Lab

Lately, making digital copies of museum specimens has become a process far more sophisticated than taking high-resolution photographs. And like digital books, these replicas become extremely useful tools. Bits and bytes are more easily accessible to researchers than specimens looked away in isolated museums. Here at the Natural History Museum, we can supplement traditional 2D methods with CT scanning, 3D surface scans, and we can archive bits of molecular code. We’re in the first stages of building digital avatars of specimens: the digital versions of their DNA, voices, surfaces and innards. And we can even bring the technology into the field, which opens new doors into saving, studying and archiving one-time collecting events.

So keep your eyes peeled. The next time you see something from the Smithsonian, it might be better than the real thing.

Nick Pyenson from the Natural History Museum

Nicholas Pyenson is a curator of fossil marine mammals at the Natural History Museum and records his fieldwork and other activities at Pyenson Lab. He studies the paleobiology of marine mammals with an interest in evolutionary comparisons. This is his first in a series of posts that he will be contributing to Around the Mall.

The Natural History Museum celebrates orchids from Latin America on Saturday in its “Orchids of Latin America Family Day”

Friday, February 22: Recognizing Adaptation in the Early Human Fossil Record

We humans have come a long way from our caveman (or cavewoman) ancestors. We have complex languages, elaborate societies and iPods. But how have we changed physically? Our bodies’ adaptations to our environments have been key in ensuring our survival over all these years. Friday, George Washington University’s Dr. Erin Marie Williams talks about recognizing evidence of adaption in early human fossils. A part of Smithsonian’s HOT (Human Origins Today) Topic series, the discussion encourages audience members to join in the conversation. Free. 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Natural History Museum.

Saturday, February 23: Orchids of Latin America Family Day

Orchids’ exotic beauty is appreciated around the world. One of the two largest families of flowering plants, with around 25,000 accepted species, the flower grows in the most concentrated varieties in the tropics, including Latin America. Smithsonian celebrates Latin America’s orchids today with a family flower extravaganza, including orchid mosaic building, orchid tattoos and face painting. Orchid experts are on site to answer questions and to show off some of the unique plants from their collections. Free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Natural History Museum.

Sunday, February 24: Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance 

Director Amber Edwards offers a trip back to the 1920s today in Against the Odds: The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance, a 1-hour documentary about the black writers, musicians, artists and intellectuals who launched a cultural movement that redefined how America viewed African Americans. Seeing the film and joining the discussion that is held afterwards are perfect ways to celebrate Black History Month this weekend. Free. 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Anacostia Community Museum.

Also, check out our Visitors Guide App. Get the most out of your trip to Washington, D.C. and the National Mall with this selection of custom-built tours, based on your available time and passions. From the editors of Smithsonian magazine, the app is packed with handy navigational tools, maps, museum floor plans and museum information including ‘Greatest Hits’ for each Smithsonian museum.

For a complete listing of Smithsonian events and exhibitions visit the goSmithsonian Visitors Guide. Additional reporting by Michelle Strange.