Earlier this week, a Brazilian tourist visiting Portugal knocked over and destroyed a priceless 18th-century statue in Lisbon's National Museum of Ancient Art while trying to take a selfie. If you thought this story sounded familiar, that's because it does: In May, another tourist destroyed a different Lisbon statue while posing for a selfie, in that case atop the Rossio train station in the capital. The Daily Mail reports that news of the breaking... broke... over the weekend when another museum patron posted a photo of the destroyed artwork, a statue of Saint Michael that dated from the early 1700s, on Facebook with the caption "It's the price to be paid for free entrances on the first Sunday of every month." Museum officials confirmed that damage to the statue is irreparable. Portuguese authorities say that they are investigating the incident. If the suspect is arrested, we can guess that he or she, like the person who knocked over the statue at Rossio station, will be charged with destruction of public property.
The museum's director, Antonio Filipe Pimentel, has one theory about how the unnamed museumgoer was able to knock over a statue without anybody noticing in time. Earlier this year, Pimentel warned that under-staffing for security guards and other personnel at major museums like the National Museum of Ancient Art could have dire consequences. "There are only 64 people for 84 chambers open to the public. I am very sure one day we will see hazards in the museum. It will happen because we're playing with our heritage."
Beyond staffing issues, selfies in museums and other public spaces are an ongoing concern that many places are struggling to address. Croatia's Plitvice Lakes National Park saw one tourist die and another come close after both veered off of approved trails to snap the perfect selfies, and a baby dolphin in Argentina died after people on a beach kept passing the animal around and taking selfies with it. Some places, like Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, have banned selfies (and all photography) in order to prevent mishaps and to encourage people to engage more directly with the art on display. However, without enough personnel on hand to enforce those rules, such bans become ineffective and could lead to more accidents that hurt both people and priceless works of art.