Italian museum hunts tourists who damaged Swarovski-covered art chair
Video footage released by Palazzo Maffei showed the hapless pair photographing each other pretending to sit on a crystal-covered chair made by the artist Nicola Bolla – described by the museum as an "extremely fragile" work.
While the woman squats but does not seem to touch the work – known as Van Gogh's Chair and covered in Swarovski crystals – the man is not so careful, sitting and then stumbling backwards as the seat buckles under his weight.
The pair can then be seen fleeing the room, in a post that went viral over the weekend.
Palazzo Maffei described it as "every museum's nightmare" and told AFP on Monday it had made a complaint to the police, without specifying when it was filed.
The museum posted an account on social media on Thursday saying the incident had happened fewer than four weeks ago and the chair had since been repaired.
"It was an idiotic thing to do," Bolla told Italian magazine Fanpage.
But the artist added that he could also see a "positive side" to the incident.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Borneo Post
an hour ago
- Borneo Post
Chinese vessels collide while pursuing Philippine boat in South China Sea
This screen grab released by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the Monday incident between a Chinese Navy vessel (left) and a China Coast Guard ship. – Handout / Philippine Coast Guard (PCG)/AFP photo MANILA (Aug 12): A Chinese navy vessel collided with one from its own coast guard while chasing a Philippine patrol boat in the South China Sea on Monday, Manila said, releasing dramatic video footage of the confrontation. The incident occurred near the contested Scarborough Shoal as the Philippine Coast Guard escorted boats distributing aid to fishermen in the area, spokesman Commodore Jay Tarriela said in a statement. Video released by Manila showed a China Coast Guard ship and a much larger vessel bearing the number 164 on its hull colliding with a loud crash. Additional footage and photos released later by the Philippine Coast Guard showed the stricken Chinese vessel still afloat but with its entire bow crumpled inward. 'The (China Coast Guard vessel) CCG 3104, which was chasing the (Filipino coast guard vessel) BRP Suluan at high speed, performed a risky manoeuvre from the (Philippine) vessel's starboard quarter, leading to the impact with the PLA (People's Liberation Army) Navy warship,' Tarriella said in a statement. 'This resulted in substantial damage to the CCG vessel's forecastle, rendering it unseaworthy.' At a later press briefing, Tarriella said that crew members aboard the smaller Chinese vessel had been visible in its front section just before the collision. 'We're not sure whether they were able to rescue those personnel who were in front prior to the collision. But we are hoping that these personnel are in good condition,' he told reporters. Tarriela said the Chinese crew 'never responded' to the Philippine ship's offer of assistance. Gan Yu, a Chinese coast guard spokesperson, confirmed that a confrontation had taken place without mentioning the collision. 'The China Coast Guard took necessary measures in accordance with the law, including monitoring, pressing from the outside, blocking and controlling the Philippine vessels to drive them away,' he said in a statement. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not confirm or deny the collision when asked about it by AFP. Monday's incident is the latest in a series of confrontations between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely despite an international ruling that the assertion has no legal basis. More than 60 percent of global maritime trade passes through the disputed waterway. Speaking at a morning news conference, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos said the country's patrol vessels would 'continue to be present' in the area to defend, as well as exercise Manila's sovereign rights over, what it considers to be part of its territory. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks — has been a flashpoint between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Earlier in the confrontation, the BRP Suluan was 'targeted with a water cannon' by the Chinese but 'successfully' evaded it, Tarriela's statement said. Chna coast guard collide navy vesel Scarborough Shoal south china sea
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
One dead, 10 injured in Pennsylvania steel plant explosions
CLAIRTON, United States: At least one person died and 10 were wounded Monday after blasts at a US Steel plant in the state of Pennsylvania, officials said. "Multiple explosions occurred today at US Steel Clairton Coke Works," the state's Governor Josh Shapiro said in a post on X, naming a plant some 15 miles (25 kilometres) outside the city of Pittsburgh. "Injured employees have now been transported to local hospitals to receive care, and search-and-rescue efforts remain active at the plant," he added. One person was still believed to be missing Monday night, according to Allegheny County Police, which confirmed in a statement there had been one fatality. One victim who had previously been reported missing was rescued and taken to a hospital for treatment, authorities said, adding that "nine [other] people were transported to area hospitals to be treated for a variety of injuries." US Steel said the incident happened at around 11am (1500 GMT) on Monday and that emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene. "During times like this, US Steel employees come together to extend their love, prayers, and support to everyone affected," David Burritt, CEO of the company, said in a statement. Some US media outlets reported that people were still trapped under the rubble of the explosion. Videos on social media, not verified by AFP, appeared to show firefighters battling the blaze in front of a gutted industrial building, under a thick plume of white smoke. The Clairton Coke Works is the largest coking factory in the United States – a facility where coal is processed to produce coke, a key fuel in steelmaking. --AFP
The Star
3 hours ago
- The Star
Fake police arrested for running ‘crime bureau'
Six men were arrested for allegedly posing as police and extorting 'donations' from a rented office labelled a 'crime investigation bureau'. The 'International Police and Crime Investigation Bureau', run from an office decorated with 'police-like colours and logos', was located in New Delhi satellite city Noida, police said in a statement late Sunday. The accused forged documents and certificates and ran a website where they sought 'donations' from victims, police said. They also claimed they had an 'affiliation with Interpol' and other international crime units. 'The perpetrators presented themselves as public servants,' the police said, recovering several mobile phones, chequebooks, stamp seals and identity cards. The arrests come just weeks after a man was arrested for allegedly running a fake embassy from a rented house near New Delhi and duping job seekers of money with promises of employment abroad. The accused operated an illegal 'West Arctic embassy' and claimed to be the ambassador of fictional nations including 'West Arctica, Saborga, Poulvia, Lodonia'. — AFP
