Young Israeli Girl Breaks 2,000-year-old Vase, Museum Says Thanks

A little girl accidentally broke a 2,000-year-old glass vessel during a visit to the Israel Museum on Sunday. The museum said the object has now been repaired and is in better shape than it was before.

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The object is part of the Robert and Renee Belfer collection, a rare and important assemblage of objects from ancient Egypt, the Roman Empire and from the Byzantine period. The museum received dozens of objects from this collection about six months ago to mount a special exhibit.

One of the vessels is the base of a delicate vessel dated to the Roman period, about 2,000 years ago. The base has an old crack that was repaired in the past. In recent weeks, because of the school vacation, the museum has been inundated with families and children.

According to a museum employee, the little girl clung to the glass case or rocked it and as a result, the glass object fell inside the case and broke along the old crack.

The museum removed the object and received permission from the collection’s owners to repair it in its laboratory.

“It would require a great effort to notice the crack with the naked eye,” the museum said.