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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2025.23
People
Felekşan Onar
Title
Shattered
Classification
Multiples
Work Type
multiple, sculpture
Date
2023
Period
Modern
Culture
Turkish
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/382866

Location

Location
Level 2, Room 2550, Art from Islamic Lands, The Middle East and North Africa
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Physical Descriptions

Medium
Mold-blown glass and gold paint
Technique
Mold-blown glass
Dimensions
Length × diameter: 18 × 6 cm (7 1/16 × 2 3/8 in.) each

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Felekşan Onar, Turkey, (created 2023), sold; to Harvard Art Museums, 2025.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Purchase through the generosity of Ann B. Goodman
Accession Year
2025
Object Number
2025.23
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
These seven glass birds created by the contemporary Turkish Artist, Felekşan Onar (b. 1966), are part of a series named “Shattered” after the devastating earthquakes in Türkiye (Turkey) and Syria in 2023. Onar’s multi-colored glass swallows are made in the mold-blown technique and are hollow inside. All seven birds are shown perched, as if unable to fly. Four birds are painted minimally with gold lines. By painting these gold lines, Onar mimics the Japanese Kintsugi technique of repairing broken pottery with gold and draws attention to the “resilience and transformative power that emerge from adversity.” While the glass birds serve as symbols of both fragility and strength, the gold lines represent the healing that takes place after such natural disasters. Onar also emphasizes “the beauty that arises from imperfections and the profound journey of transformation.”

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2550 Islamic, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/28/2024 - 10/31/2025

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu