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“Curious” 4-year-old accidentally breaks a 3,500-year-old jar at a museum
A young child accidentally broke a centuries-old jar while visiting the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa in Israel, museum officials said Wednesday.
The jar is at least 3,500 years old, the museum told CBS News in a statement, and dates back to the Middle Bronze Age.
The 4-year-old boy “pulled the jar slightly,” his father Alex told CBS News partner BBC News. The boy was “curious about what was inside,” Alex said, and the movement caused the jar to fall, smashing into several large pieces.
Alex told the BBC he was “in shock,” but that he and his son spoke to the security guard immediately after the incident.
The jar was likely meant for the storage and transportation of supplies like wine and olive oil. The lack of damage to the jar and its size made it “an impressive find,” the museum said. Until mid-August, it was on display at the entrance to the Hecht Museum along with several similar artifacts.
Hecht Museum
Despite its rarity, the jar was not protected by glass, the museum said, because the establishment’s founder believed “that there is a special charm in experiencing an archaeological find without any obstructions.”
The museum said that when display items are “intentionally damaged,” they respond with “great severity, including involving police,” but said such a response would not be warranted because of the accidental nature of the incident.
Hecht Museum
A specialist was called to restore the jar, the museum said. The repair process was expected to be short, and the jar “will be returned to its place in a short time,” the museum said. The museum will also document the conservation work and present it to the public alongside the restored artifact. Once again, the jar will not be kept behind glass, calling the accident a “rare incident.”
Dr. Inbal Rivlin, the general director of the museum, has invited the child and his family to visit the museum and see the jar again once it has been restored. The family will also receive a tour of the building “to sweeten together the previous experience at the museum.”
Michal Ben-Gal contributed reporting.
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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