Museum disaster!

[Markel]

Link (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060130/D8FF842G6.html)

Stumbling Tourist Smashes Rare China Vases

Jan 30, 4:15 PM (ET)

CAMBRIDGE, England (AP) - A visitor to a British museum tripped on his shoelace, stumbled down a stairway and fell into a display of centuries-old Chinese vases, shattering them into "very small pieces," officials said Monday.

The three Qing dynasty vases, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century, had been donated to the Fitzwilliam Museum in the university city of Cambridge in 1948 and were among its best-known artifacts. They sat on the window sill beside the staircase for 40 years.

"It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident, but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed," museum director Duncan Robinson said.

The museum declined to identify the man who tripped on a loose shoelace Wednesday.

Asked about the porcelain vases, Margaret Greeves, the museum's assistant director, said: "They are in very, very small pieces, but we are determined to put them back together."

The museum declined to say what the vases were worth.

" '...but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed,' museum director Duncan Robinson said."
I think the operative term here is "leave" (and they probably added, "and NEVER come back!"

[djsusm]

"So honey, what did you do today?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just broke some priceless pieces of human history"

[Sirrich3]

OOoooh, ouch! wonder what that cost would be...

[Grimm]

Link (http://apnews.myway.com//article/20060130/D8FF842G6.html)


" '...but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed,' museum director Duncan Robinson said."
I think the operative term here is "leave" (and they probably added, "and NEVER come back!"
No, what it means is that he was able to outrun the director, who would have made sure he was anything but safe.

[ArkiStan]

hehe I think I saw those artifacts this winter. WHAT A SHAME!! :D

[Cheesypuff]

he he he...all I can do is just laugh under my breath.

[clutchy]

poor ching dynasty vases. I can't imagine doing something like that... ugh.. what a waste.

[DarkFury]

<Nelson>

HA HA!!!

</Nelson>

[zero2dash]

They sat on the window sill beside the staircase for 40 years.

If they were so priceless, why were they sitting out in the open on a window sill? And how big of a window sill are we talking about here 'cause most of them are no more than 2-3" wide and I'm sure these vases are larger than that...dare I say half of the vase fit on the sill?

Pardon the guy for being a klutz but come on...put the stuff up where it won't be damaged. That's like putting a million dollars outside of a bank vault instead of inside of it, and just assuming that the security guard won't fall asleep while he's on patrol. :rolleyes:

[bachviet]

I wonder if the vase is insured.

[DaFunkyUnit]

Wanna get away? (http://www.southwest.com/)

[Markel]

Funny that this thread should be resurrected today. I just noticed this article (http://reuters.myway.com/article/20060206/2006-02-06T152115Z_01_L06762002_RTRIDST_0_ODD-VASES-DC.html):

Ka-Qing, and don't come back..

Feb 6, 10:21 AM (ET)

LONDON (Reuters) - A man who tripped, fell down a staircase and smashed into three rare Chinese vases in a museum two weeks ago said Monday "it was just a regrettable accident."

"I snagged my shoelace, missed the step and 'crash bang wallop,' there was a million pieces of high quality Qing ceramics lying around beneath me," Nick Flynn told BBC radio.

"There is no way my pocket will stretch to reimburse them for the damage that I have done."

A regular visitor to the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, Flynn, 42, expressed surprise the three vases had not been secured in some way.

"They were just left lying on the window sill."

The vases, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century, were donated to the museum in 1948 and were one of its most recognizable exhibits.

Shocked but determined museum staff have vowed to glue the pieces back together again and take steps to ensure a similar accident doesn't happen again.

"I have had a letter from a Duncan Robinson," Flynn said. "He is the director of the Fitzwilliam Museum, and he has written to me asking me not to visit the museum again in the near future." (emphasis added)

[Houdini]

Wow. It does sound like it was a simple accident, likely unpreventable, and certainly not malicious. For the museum to ban him, that sucks.

These pieces were from the 17th-18th century? That's not really _that_ old, compared to other artifacts, especially from China. I wonder what they were really worth.

I feel sorry for the guy and for the museum, but I guess I just don't see it as that big of a deal. He tripped and broke some vases, and he has made amends. It's not like he burned the Mona Lisa or took a sledge hammer to the Rosetta Stone.

[surfer]

Weird the museum didn't put them in a protective case or something so this wouldn't happen.