William Lloyd smashes the Portland Vase
Posted in Anniversary, Art on Thursday, 27 January 2011
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7 February marks the anniversary of a drunken act of vandalism that resulted in the smashing of the Portland Vase in 1845. The Roman vase, thought to have been made in Rome in around 30-20 BC, is made of violet-blue glass and has a white glass cameo depicting seven figures.
Whilst visiting the British Museum, William Lloyd drunkenly threw a nearby sculpture onto the top of the glass case in which the vase was held (on loan) and smashed it. When the vase was repaired, 37 small fragments had disappeared – taken away unbeknownst to the restorer so that a box could be made for them. It was only good fortune that led to their return many years later. The vase was reconstructed in 1988-89 and is now owned by, and on display at, the British Museum.
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