4-Year-Old Accidentally Breaks 3,500-Year-Old Jar at Hecht Museum

A 3,500-year-old jar from the Middle Bronze Age, once used for oil and wine in ancient Canaan, had survived millennia before being showcased at the Hecht Museum in Israel. However, last week, it was accidentally knocked over by a curious 4-year-old boy visiting the museum with his parents in Haifa.

The incident occurred on Friday when the boy tried to look inside the ancient jar, causing it to fall from its metal stand and shatter, as the museum later explained in a statement. The Hecht Museum, known for displaying its valuable artifacts without protective glass or barriers, believes this approach allows visitors to connect more closely with historical objects, much like those who originally used them.

This open display method reflects the vision of the museum’s founder, Dr. Reuben Hecht. But in this instance, it made the jar vulnerable to the child’s curiosity. The jar, which dates back to between 2200 and 1500 B.C., is from a time long before the reigns of King David and King Solomon.

The jar is similar to other artifacts from ancient Canaan, a region that includes present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories.

According to Dr. Inbal Rivlin, the museum’s general director, although comparable jars have been uncovered in archaeological excavations, the majority were found broken or incomplete.

The jar at the Hecht Museum was unique because it was intact and prominently displayed at the museum’s entrance.

The museum, part of the University of Haifa, has assured that the jar will be carefully restored, and the restoration process will be available for the public to view. Despite this unfortunate event, the museum remains committed to its open display policy.

Incidents like this are not uncommon in museums worldwide. In 2010, a woman accidentally damaged a Picasso painting at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and in 2016, a child caused a sculpture to fall at the Shanghai Museum of Glass.

In this case, the museum understands the accident was unintentional and has even invited the family back to see the restored jar once the work is complete. Dr. Hecht, an Israeli industrialist and close advisor to prime ministers, donated his extensive collection of Middle Eastern artifacts and 19th-century paintings to the museum before passing away in 1993 at the age of 83.

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