A clumsy visitor to a British museum has destroyed a trio of priceless 300-year-old Chinese vases after tripping up on his shoelace and stumbling down a marble staircase.
The three Qing vases, dating from the late 17th or early 18th century, had stood on a windowsill at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, eastern England, for at least 40 years, The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday.
Their prominent position made them among its best-known artefacts, the paper said.
Museum visitor Steve Baxter, who saw the accident last Wednesday, was quoted as saying: "We watched the man fall as if in slow motion. He landed in the middle of the vases and they splintered into a million pieces.
"He was still sitting there, stunned, when staff appeared. Everyone stood around in silence, as if in shock. Then the man started talking. He kept pointing to his shoelace and saying, `There it is; that's the culprit'."
The museum, owned by Cambridge University, has refused to put a value on the antiques, The Times reported, but the cost could run into millions of pounds.
The museum declined to say if the items were insured, but it is believed the culprit will not be expected to pay for the damage.
"It was a most unfortunate and regrettable accident, but we are glad that the visitor involved was able to leave the museum unharmed," said Duncan Robinson, the Fitzwilliam's director.
Assistant director Margaret Greeves said the vases were in "very, very small pieces - but we are determined to put them back together".
