During a trip to a museum in Israel, a four-year-old boy accidentally smashed a 3,500-year-old jar into pieces. The Hecht Museum in Haifa reported that the jar dates back to the Bronze Age, which was a period of time between 2200 and 1500 BC. Due to the fact that the jar was still intact, it was considered an extremely rare piece.
The jar on display near the museum entrance was not enclosed in safety glass because the Hecht Museum believes it is preferable to display its archaeological finds without obstructions.
The incident, according to the boy’s father, was the result of the boy’s curiosity. He explained that the boy pulled the jar slightly because he was curious about what was inside, and this caused it to fall.
He also explained that his first thought was that his child didn’t do it. However, when he realized what had happened, he calmed the boy down, and talked to a security guard from the museum.
The Hecht Museum invited the boy and his family back after the incident happened
The Hecht Museum decided to invite the boy and his family back for an organized tour after the incident took place. Lihi Laszlo, a spokesperson for the Hecht Museum explained that “there are instances where display items are intentionally damaged, and such cases are treated with great severity, including involving the police.”
Laszlo pointed out this was not the case in this incident. She stated that the jar was damaged by a young child who was visiting the museum with his family and the response would be proportional.
The museum has already appointed a conservation specialist to restore the jar, and according to museum sources, the artifact will return to its place in a short period of time.
After the incident, the museum reiterated its intention to display items without protection whenever possible, and this will not change over a rare incident.
It is also worth highlighting that the jar is so old it is essentially priceless.
This item, which was most likely intended to carry local supplies such as wine and olive oil, predates the biblical King David and King Solomon and is typical of the Canaan region of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is not the first time a child has broken something in a museum
Museums are no strangers to such types of incidents. For instance, in 2015, a 12-year-old boy in Taiwan accidentally tripped and punched a hole in a 17th-century artifact worth $1.5 million at a museum in Taipei.
Perhaps there is no incident more infamous than the one involving Picasso’s painting The Actor.
In 2010, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, a woman lost her balance and fell into the painting, creating a 6-inch tear in the canvas. The painting, which was created during Picasso’s Rose period, was worth an estimated $130 million.
The Met, however, was able to restore the piece.
