Museum curator breaks 2,200-year-old glass accessory

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OTSU, Japan, April 24 Kyodo -
A curator at a museum in Shiga Prefecture in western Japan accidentally dropped
and broke an antique glass accessory estimated to be 2,200 years old, the
museum said Friday.
The item, designated by the government as an important cultural asset and
believed to date back to the mid-Yayoi period, was unearthed in 1989 at the
Yoshinogari Remains in Saga Prefecture, southwestern Japan.
It was on loan for a special display scheduled to begin Saturday at the Shiga
Prefectural Azuchi Castle Archaeological Museum.
''It's a great pity,'' said Toshihiro Kawasaki, head of the Saga prefectural
board of education in charge of the management of the remains. ''The accessory,
with its bright light blue color, is one of the items representing the
Yoshinogari Remains. We hope it will be repaired and be able to be put on
display as soon as possible.''
The accessory was made of 46 cylinder-shaped pieces of sky blue glass threaded
together. On Thursday, the curator dropped it from a height of about 70
centimeters onto a carpeted floor, and more than 10 of the pieces of glass
broke, the museum said.
==Kyodo
2009-04-24 22:52:50