Museum Mishaps: Kids Accidentally Break Baroque Painting, 2,000-Year-Old Vase in Separate Incidents

  • August 25, 2015 22:42

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Still from footage of the boy breaking a Paolo Porpora floral still-life. Via YouTube

Two kids had their worst museum visits ever this week.

A 12-year-old boy on a school field trip to Taipei's Huashan 1914 Creative Park tripped and accidentally punched a hole through a Paolo Porpora floral still-life valued at $1.5 million. 

The work was a casualty on the group's visit to the exhibition "The Face of Leanoardo: Images of Genius." In CCTV footage, the boy is seen viewing the Porpora while holding a drink, then losing his balance and falling fist-first into the painting. Experts are considering options for restoration, and the word so far is that the boy's family will not be held responsible.

Also on Sunday, a little girl leaned on a case holding a 2,000-year-old glass vessel at the Israel Museum. The piece tipped over inside the case and broke along a previous crack.

The museum said the vase was part of the Robert and Renee Belfer collection, on loan for a special exhibit. The Roman-era object was restored with permission from the owners and the museum says it is in better shape than before.

Read more at Haaretz


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