British Museum Qing Dynasty Ceramics Damaged In Display Case

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A 300-year-old Jingdezhen porcelain bowl and its accompanying box were found shattered inside a display case at the British Museum after the bowl reportedly fell from its shelf. The incident, which occurred on October 4, is under investigation by museum staff, who noted that the mount for the bowl remained undamaged and no one was present in the room at the time of the fall.

A spokesperson for the museum confirmed that conservators are actively working to restore both pieces.“We take the care of objects incredibly seriously and have stringent measures in place within cases to protect from such incidents occurring,” the spokesperson stated. The label for the damaged bowl has since been replaced with a notification indicating it is currently undergoing“restoration.”

The broken artifacts are part of a collection of 1,700 items from the Sir Percival David Foundation, which span the third to the twentieth century. This collection, assembled by British financier Percival David during the 1920s and 1930s, includes Imperial ceramics from the Qing and Yuan dynasties. Valued at approximately £1 billion ($1.3 billion), the collection was donated to the British Museum in 2025 and is considered the highest-value gift ever received by a UK museum.

Images of the broken items, posted by Chinese visitors on social media, have ignited considerable outrage in China. The South China Morning Post reported that“the incident has sparked debate on Chinese social media over how museums should protect fragile works.” The publication also quoted Pan Jinyu, a London-based Chinese-speaking tour guide, who criticized the lack of coverage by UK media. Pan informed the Global Times that when he inquired with museum staff about the damage,“they seemed surprised that we had seen photos of it, but confirmed to me that porcelain had indeed been broken.”

Source: Artforum

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