Tourists break crystal-covered chair at Italian museum

An Italian depository is calling for visitors to respect the creation connected show aft a tourer mates broke a crystal-covered seat earlier fleeing.

The Palazzo Maffei successful Verona, Italy, released security video footage this week that shows a antheral and a pistillate taking pictures of each different portion pretending to beryllium connected Nicola Bolla's alleged "Van Gogh" chair. The creation furnishings is covered successful hundreds of Swarovski crystals made from polished, machine-cut solid and is named successful grant of Vincent van Gogh.

A mates is seen taking photos portion pretending to beryllium connected Nicola Bolla's alleged "Van Gogh" seat astatine the Palazzo Maffei successful Verona, Italy. Palazzo Maffei Verona via Storyful

At 1 point, the antheral appears to gaffe and autumn onto the chair, crushing it. Museum officials said the mates fled earlier unit members noticed what happened.

"Every museum's nightmare has travel true," the depository said successful a societal media station sharing the footage.

The mates near the depository aft breaking the chair, without informing unit of the incident, according to officials astatine the Palazzo Maffei successful Verona, Italy. Palazzo Maffei Verona via Storyful

Museum officials said section constabulary person been contacted astir the couple, who person not been identified, CBS News spouse BBC reported.

"Sometimes we suffer our brains to instrumentality a picture, and we don't deliberation astir the consequences," depository manager Vanessa Carlon told the BBC. "Of people it was an accident, but these 2 radical near without speaking to america — that isn't an accident."

Two of the chair's legs were breached but the depository was capable to reconstruct them. The seat is backmost connected display.

The restored "Van Gogh" chair, made of hundreds of Swarovski crystals, aft it was breached astatine the Palazzo Maffei successful Verona, Italy. Palazzo Maffei Verona via Storyful

Carlotta Menegazzo, an creation historiographer based astatine the Palazzo Maffei, told the BBC that portion the seat looks sturdy, the framework is mostly hollow.

"On the seat was a enactment informing radical not to touch, and of people it is placed connected a pedestal, truthful it's rather wide it's not a existent chair," she said.

According to the BBC, the incidental took spot successful April, and the depository lone released the information camera footage this week to rise awareness.

"We are sharing this occurrence not lone for the record, but to commencement a existent consciousness run connected the worth of creation and the respect it deserves," the depository said successful a societal media post.

The Palazzo Maffei opened successful 2020 and has 650 pieces connected display.

• Vincent van Gogh
• Italy
• Art