1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,000 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:09,360 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:09,400 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: a show that pieces together history one day at a time. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,680 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Blusier, and in this episode we're talking about 5 00:00:17,720 --> 00:00:20,680 Speaker 1: a fragile work of art that survived the perils of 6 00:00:20,680 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: the ancient world, including the Fall of Rome, just to 7 00:00:24,040 --> 00:00:33,640 Speaker 1: be dashed to pieces inside a modern museum. The day 8 00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 1: was February seven, eighteen forty five. An Irish visitor to 9 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:43,040 Speaker 1: the British Museum in London purposely destroyed a two thousand 10 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:47,080 Speaker 1: year old Roman vase believed to have been made between 11 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,920 Speaker 1: the years one and twenty five a d The vessel 12 00:00:51,000 --> 00:00:55,560 Speaker 1: in question eventually became known as the Portland Vase. It's 13 00:00:55,600 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: one of the most famous examples of Imperial Roman cameo glass, 14 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:05,399 Speaker 1: an extravagant form of sculpture that features intricate decorations inspired 15 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:09,960 Speaker 1: by relief cut gems. The Portland Vase, for example, is 16 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,960 Speaker 1: a ten inch tall, two handled jug called an amphora. 17 00:01:14,160 --> 00:01:17,959 Speaker 1: It's made from cobalt blue glass and overlaid with seven 18 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:22,400 Speaker 1: figures carved out of opaque white glass. If you're familiar 19 00:01:22,440 --> 00:01:25,280 Speaker 1: with cameo jewelry, then you have a good idea of 20 00:01:25,319 --> 00:01:29,080 Speaker 1: the art style. Scholars have come up with about fifty 21 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:33,200 Speaker 1: different interpretations to explain the imagery on the vase, but 22 00:01:33,319 --> 00:01:37,080 Speaker 1: the only character known for certain is Cupid, who's easy 23 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:39,480 Speaker 1: to spot due to his bow and the fact that 24 00:01:39,520 --> 00:01:43,119 Speaker 1: he's shown fluttering in mid air. The identity of the 25 00:01:43,200 --> 00:01:47,640 Speaker 1: other figures is still up for debate. The Portland Vase 26 00:01:47,880 --> 00:01:50,760 Speaker 1: first appeared in the historical record at the turn of 27 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:54,280 Speaker 1: the seventeenth century, hundreds of years after it was made. 28 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,360 Speaker 1: The vase was supposedly found around that time in Rome 29 00:01:58,680 --> 00:02:02,440 Speaker 1: within a sarcophagus inside the tomb of the third century 30 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:08,519 Speaker 1: emperor Alexander Severus. After several changes in ownership over the years, 31 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,960 Speaker 1: the artifact eventually made its way to Britain and was 32 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: purchased by a wealthy collector, the Duke of Portland. He 33 00:02:16,320 --> 00:02:19,760 Speaker 1: later loaned the vaz to the British Museum, where it 34 00:02:19,800 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: remained safe in a glass cabinet until that fateful day 35 00:02:23,639 --> 00:02:28,480 Speaker 1: in eighteen forty five. Historians don't know much for certain 36 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:31,840 Speaker 1: about the man who vandalized the museum, and that was 37 00:02:31,880 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: true for authorities at the time as well. Originally from Dublin, 38 00:02:36,760 --> 00:02:39,520 Speaker 1: he had been living in London under a false name, 39 00:02:39,960 --> 00:02:44,880 Speaker 1: William Lloyd. His real name was William Mulcahey, and he 40 00:02:44,919 --> 00:02:47,880 Speaker 1: was a student at Trinity College in Dublin who had 41 00:02:47,919 --> 00:02:53,280 Speaker 1: been reported missing earlier that month. Other vague details gradually 42 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: came to light about his life, including that Mulkahey was 43 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,160 Speaker 1: a scenic painter, that his brother was a lecturer at 44 00:03:00,200 --> 00:03:03,600 Speaker 1: Trinity College, and that he had fled from Ireland due 45 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 1: to some unspecified family strife. Some accounts of the event 46 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: have theorized that mulkay he suffered from paranoia or fits 47 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:15,280 Speaker 1: of madness and that's what drove him to smash the 48 00:03:15,280 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: Portland vase, but Mark he didn't plead insanity after he 49 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: broke the vase. Instead, he later told police that his 50 00:03:23,840 --> 00:03:26,240 Speaker 1: actions were due to the fact that he had been 51 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:29,640 Speaker 1: binge drinking all week long, or as he put it, 52 00:03:29,840 --> 00:03:35,600 Speaker 1: quote indulging in intemperance for a week before. Despite his 53 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,960 Speaker 1: heavy drinking, mulka He had managed to keep a low 54 00:03:39,040 --> 00:03:43,520 Speaker 1: profile in London until the afternoon of February seven, when 55 00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:47,560 Speaker 1: he gave himself away in dramatic fashion. He entered the 56 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:52,080 Speaker 1: British Museum still very much drunk, and promptly smashed one 57 00:03:52,120 --> 00:03:57,000 Speaker 1: of its finest sculptures into a hundred and eighty nine pieces. 58 00:03:57,040 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: But that wasn't as easy a task as he might ink. 59 00:04:00,920 --> 00:04:04,040 Speaker 1: The Portland vase wasn't on display out in the open. 60 00:04:04,440 --> 00:04:08,240 Speaker 1: It was kept inside a thick glass case. In other words, 61 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,160 Speaker 1: there's no chance that Mulka he destroyed the vase by mistake. 62 00:04:12,640 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: He didn't just stumble into it and knock it off 63 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:19,599 Speaker 1: a pedestal. He had to really want it. Ironically, the 64 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,320 Speaker 1: museum itself wound up providing the instrument of the vases destruction. 65 00:04:25,080 --> 00:04:28,480 Speaker 1: Within the same exhibit of sculptures, there was a large 66 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:31,839 Speaker 1: piece of basalt, part of a monument from the ruins 67 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:35,719 Speaker 1: of Persepolis, and it was on display without a case. 68 00:04:36,680 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: When the museum attendant left the room, mulk He made 69 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:43,440 Speaker 1: his move. He picked up the heavy sculpture and threw 70 00:04:43,480 --> 00:04:45,839 Speaker 1: it directly at the top of the cabinet where the 71 00:04:45,880 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: Portland vase was displayed. Both the case and the vase 72 00:04:50,279 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: were shattered. As I'm sure you've guessed, Mulka he was 73 00:04:54,680 --> 00:04:58,320 Speaker 1: arrested on the spot. But what's more surprising is that 74 00:04:58,360 --> 00:05:02,400 Speaker 1: he was never convicted of breaking the vase. That's because, 75 00:05:02,440 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: as his lawyer pointed out the act of willful damage 76 00:05:06,360 --> 00:05:09,600 Speaker 1: that he was charged with applied only to objects worth 77 00:05:09,600 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 1: a maximum of five pounds. The court agreed, and mulka 78 00:05:14,200 --> 00:05:17,719 Speaker 1: He was convicted of breaking the glass case, but not 79 00:05:17,880 --> 00:05:21,960 Speaker 1: the vase inside. For the crime, Malka He was fined 80 00:05:22,200 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: three pounds, the equivalent of more than three hundred pounds 81 00:05:25,800 --> 00:05:29,600 Speaker 1: or four hundred dollars in today's money. He didn't have 82 00:05:29,760 --> 00:05:32,520 Speaker 1: that kind of cash, so he was sentenced to two 83 00:05:32,560 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: months in debtors prison instead. Moka He didn't serve as 84 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:40,920 Speaker 1: full term, though, because an anonymous benefactor paid his fine 85 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:45,520 Speaker 1: by mail and secured his release. It's unclear whether the 86 00:05:45,560 --> 00:05:48,560 Speaker 1: money was sent by a friend back in Ireland or 87 00:05:48,600 --> 00:05:51,720 Speaker 1: by a compassionate citizen of London who had read about 88 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:54,840 Speaker 1: his plight in the news. It could have even been 89 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,600 Speaker 1: sent by the vases owner and namesake, the Duke of Portland. 90 00:05:59,080 --> 00:06:01,599 Speaker 1: He had lent his ose to the museum on loan 91 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,800 Speaker 1: and could have pursued civil action against the man who 92 00:06:04,839 --> 00:06:09,919 Speaker 1: destroyed it. However, by that point, investigators had determined Mulkayhe's 93 00:06:09,960 --> 00:06:14,359 Speaker 1: true identity, including his troubled background and his impoverished family. 94 00:06:15,000 --> 00:06:18,280 Speaker 1: In light of that the Duke waved his right, calling 95 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:21,640 Speaker 1: the destruction of the vaz quote an act of folly 96 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:25,080 Speaker 1: or madness which they could not control, and saying that 97 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,840 Speaker 1: he didn't want to make things worse from Okayhee or 98 00:06:27,880 --> 00:06:32,120 Speaker 1: his family, given all that it's possible. The Duke's charity 99 00:06:32,279 --> 00:06:36,919 Speaker 1: extended to paying Mulkeyhey's bail, as well as for the 100 00:06:37,040 --> 00:06:42,360 Speaker 1: vase itself. It was later painstakingly restored several times. In fact, 101 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,239 Speaker 1: the first occurred the same year the vase was broken, 102 00:06:46,560 --> 00:06:51,160 Speaker 1: when noted craftsman John Doubleday glued the many fragments back together. 103 00:06:52,080 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: It was an impressive attempt given the tools at his disposal, 104 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:58,279 Speaker 1: but when he was finished there were still thirty seven 105 00:06:58,320 --> 00:07:03,400 Speaker 1: small pieces left over. Those were set aside and later misplaced, 106 00:07:03,640 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: but they were eventually rediscovered, so in nineteen forty eight 107 00:07:07,960 --> 00:07:12,880 Speaker 1: a second restoration began. That time, most of the wayward 108 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,080 Speaker 1: fragments were added to the vase, but not all of them. 109 00:07:16,880 --> 00:07:19,720 Speaker 1: That brings us to the nineteen eighties, when the third 110 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:24,400 Speaker 1: and so far final reconstruction took place. By then, the 111 00:07:24,600 --> 00:07:28,560 Speaker 1: previous restoration work was yellowing, and it was hoped that 112 00:07:28,640 --> 00:07:33,560 Speaker 1: adhesive technology had advanced enough to provide a longer lasting solution. 113 00:07:33,680 --> 00:07:38,280 Speaker 1: The third time around, the task fell to restorers Nigel 114 00:07:38,360 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: Williams and Sondra Smith, who began by using solvents to 115 00:07:42,480 --> 00:07:47,320 Speaker 1: dissolve the adhesive bonds of previous repairs, effectively returning the 116 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:50,560 Speaker 1: vase to the broken state that mackay he had left 117 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,760 Speaker 1: it in over a century earlier. From there, each piece 118 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:59,720 Speaker 1: was individually cleaned and then rejoined using a specially formulated glass. 119 00:07:59,760 --> 00:08:04,080 Speaker 1: At once the vase had been rebuilt, who was exposed 120 00:08:04,080 --> 00:08:07,400 Speaker 1: to ultra violet light in a curing process meant to 121 00:08:07,440 --> 00:08:12,760 Speaker 1: strengthen the adhesive bonds. Thankfully, the duo is nine months 122 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,760 Speaker 1: of meticulous work paid off, and the Portland Vase now 123 00:08:16,840 --> 00:08:20,200 Speaker 1: looks better and more complete than it has since the 124 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:23,680 Speaker 1: day it was broken. It's still missing a few pieces, 125 00:08:23,840 --> 00:08:27,680 Speaker 1: but if you squint you can barely tell. After all 126 00:08:27,720 --> 00:08:31,080 Speaker 1: this time, there's still a lot of mystery surrounding the 127 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:36,160 Speaker 1: vases history. It's been called an enigma in glass. We 128 00:08:36,240 --> 00:08:39,160 Speaker 1: don't know the identities of the figures etched onto the 129 00:08:39,240 --> 00:08:42,360 Speaker 1: vase or the story that's trying to be conveyed, and 130 00:08:42,440 --> 00:08:45,960 Speaker 1: we don't know why it disappeared. For fifteen centuries before 131 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:50,560 Speaker 1: resurfacing in Rome. In any case, it's amazing that such 132 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:53,800 Speaker 1: a delicate work of art managed to survive all the 133 00:08:53,840 --> 00:08:57,559 Speaker 1: way from antiquity only to be destroyed in a matter 134 00:08:57,640 --> 00:09:01,600 Speaker 1: of seconds by a nineteenth century college student on a vendor. 135 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,360 Speaker 1: I'm not sure what that says exactly about the modern world, 136 00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:12,960 Speaker 1: but it probably isn't good. I'm Gay Bluesier and hopefully 137 00:09:13,120 --> 00:09:16,160 Speaker 1: you now know a little more about history today than 138 00:09:16,200 --> 00:09:20,120 Speaker 1: you did yesterday. You can learn even more about history 139 00:09:20,120 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: by following us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at t 140 00:09:24,040 --> 00:09:27,960 Speaker 1: d I HC Show, and if you have any comments 141 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:30,760 Speaker 1: or suggestions, you can send them my way at this 142 00:09:30,880 --> 00:09:34,240 Speaker 1: day at I heart media dot com. I'd like to 143 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:37,400 Speaker 1: hear about any priceless artifacts that you've destroyed on a 144 00:09:37,480 --> 00:09:40,640 Speaker 1: drunken whim, but I understand if you prefer to keep 145 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,760 Speaker 1: that to yourself. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 146 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:48,080 Speaker 1: and thanks to you for listening. I'll see you back 147 00:09:48,080 --> 00:10:00,079 Speaker 1: here again tomorrow for another day in History class m 148 00:10:00,960 --> 00:10:03,840 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 149 00:10:03,880 --> 00:10:06,480 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.