A 300-year-old Jingdezhen porcelain bowl and its accompanying box were discovered shattered inside a display case at the British Museum on October 4, apparently after the bowl fell from its shelf. Museum staff say the mount remained undamaged and nobody was in the room at the time, and the incident is under investigation. The label for the bowl has since been replaced with a notice saying it is undergoing restoration. The damaged pieces belong to the Sir Percival David Foundation collection of Chinese ceramics, assembled in the 1920s and 1930s and donated to the museum in 2025. Valued at roughly £1 billion, it was described as the largest gift a UK museum has ever received, spanning imperial wares from the third to the twentieth century. Photos of the shattered bowl circulated after being posted on social media by Chinese visitors, igniting anger in China. The South China Morning Post reported a heated debate over how museums protect fragile objects, while a London-based Chinese-speaking tour guide told the Global Times he was struck by the lack of coverage in British media, saying staff confirmed the breakage only after being shown the photographs. A museum spokesperson said conservators are working to restore both pieces and that stringent measures are in place to prevent such incidents. The row is an awkward one for the institution, still repairing its reputation after the thefts scandal of 2023 and now facing renewed scrutiny of its custodianship of one of the world's great Chinese ceramic collections.