In a 17th-century intricate drawing, Dutch artist Balthasar van der Ast captured the natural beauty of a “feathered cone”—the discarded shell of a sea snail indigenous to the Indo-Pacific. Join curatorial fellow Joanna Seidenstein as she explores the histories of global trade and colonization behind this work and the curatorial questions that have come up in preparation for its display.  TAKE A CLOSER LOOK: + Balthasar van der Ast, Dutch, “Feathered Cone Shell,” c. 1620-40. Brown ink and transparent and opaque watercolor on antique laid paper. The Maida and George Abrams Collection, Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Promised Gift, 1.2018.2. https://hvrd.art/o/183480 + Learn more about the Malacology collection at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology: https://mcz.harvard.edu/malacology + Explore the Drawings Collection at the Harvard Art Museums:    • Drawings at Harvard   SPEAKERS: + Joanna Seidenstein, Stanley H. Durwood Foundation Curatorial Fellow, Division of European and American Art; + Moderated by Lynette Roth, Head, Division of Modern and Contemporary Art, Harvard Art Museums, and Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum. --- This talk is part of a series inspired by ReFrame, a museum-wide initiative to reimagine the function, role, and future of the university art museum. These talks examine difficult histories, foreground untold stories, and experiment with new approaches to the collections of the Harvard Art Museums, reflecting the concerns of our world today. Recorded Tuesday, October 5, 2021. © President and Fellows of Harvard College. For questions related to permission for commercial use of this video, please contact the Department of Digital Imaging and Visual Resources at am_divr@harvard.edu.