Mishap

The Hug That Cost $132,000

A five-year-old, a glass Aphrodite, and a very expensive embrace

Image: Unsplash

Incident ReportCOA / MISHAPS

Accidental Damage Rating

Repair Cost: ~$132,000 (beyond repair)
Curator's Blood Pressure: 95%
Embarrassment Level: 8/10
Recovered?: No
Selfie Involved?: No

During a wedding reception, a five-year-old boy wrapped his arms around Bill Lyons' six-foot glass sculpture 'Aphrodite di Kansas City'. Seconds later it tipped forward and shattered beyond repair.

It was supposed to be an ordinary wedding reception. Instead it became one of the internet's most famous museum mishaps. Security footage shows the child approaching the towering glass Aphrodite and hugging it — an innocent gesture that ended with the six-foot artwork crashing to the floor.

Valued at $132,000, the sculpture became the centre of a public debate when the family's insurer sought reimbursement, arguing negligence. The boy's mother countered that a fragile artwork had been left unguarded in a public community center where it could easily have hurt her son. The insurer eventually paid most of the claim, and the artist received roughly what he would have earned had the piece sold. Sometimes the most expensive museum disasters begin with nothing more sinister than a child trying to give a sculpture a hug.

#accidental #children #sculpture #glass