Wednesday 14 September 2022 10:29 PM EDEN CONFIDENTIAL: Fright at the Museum! Rarest china is smashed when shelf at ... trends now
Numbering Lord Rothschild, several Sainsburys and other members of the stupendously rich among its benefactors, the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford displays a staggering array of art and antiquities — from drawings by da Vinci to paintings by Rubens.
But today I can reveal those benefactors are reeling from an extraordinary incident which left several priceless pieces of porcelain shattered. The catastrophe occurred last Sunday, on the Ashmolean’s second floor in its West Meets East Gallery, which showcases, among other treasures, irreplaceable pieces of Meissen porcelain, made in Dresden in the 18th century.
The gallery was empty when a student in his 20s looked in. Moments later, I’m told, he was treated to the sound of breaking glass and porcelain, as a shelf in a glass display case gave way.
The catastrophe occurred last Sunday, on the Ashmolean’s second floor in its West Meets East Gallery, which showcases, among other treasures, irreplaceable pieces of Meissen porcelain, made in Dresden in the 18th century
The gallery was empty when a student in his 20s looked in. Moments later, I’m told, he was treated to the sound of breaking glass and porcelain, as a shelf in a glass display case gave way
‘He’d only just walked in when he heard this hideous sound,’ my Oxford mole tells me. ‘He was about 20 ft from where it happened. You can imagine what it was like: you’re alone in a museum gallery then there’s the sound of glass and china shattering. It’s a hell of a shock. Then you have the hideous feeling that you’ll be blamed for it. He felt sick.’
To his credit, the student immediately reported what had happened.
Suzanne de la Rosa, of Oxford University Gardens, Libraries and Museums, tells me six pieces of porcelain — some Royal Worcester, some Chinese — are now with the museum’s conservation team ‘for assessment’.
Adding that it is hoped ‘some of the items will return to display’, she explains that it’s not known why or how the glass shelf broke away.
Assuring me that ‘no visitors or staff were near the display case’ at the time, De la Rosa says the Ashmolean is conducting ‘a full investigation’ — not least so as to ‘avoid a similar incident in future’.
Perhaps the benefactors will supply some Blu Tack in the interim?
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