A burst pipe at the Louvre Museum has caused significant damage to hundreds of books within the Department of Egyptian Antiquities, museum officials confirmed on Sunday. The incident has affected between 300 and 400 volumes, according to reports.
Despite heightened security measures implemented after the theft of the French crown jewels in October, the museum’s defenses were unable to prevent the flooding that led to the pipe burst. The water intrusion impacted the library section located in the museum’s Mollien Wing, as reported by the German magazine DW.
Louvre’s Deputy General Administrator, Francis Steinbock, informed France’s BFM-TV that “between 300 and 400 works” were damaged and that a full assessment is ongoing. The affected items primarily date from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Steinbock attempted to reassure the public by describing these works as “extremely useful but by no means unique,” according to DW.
The damaged collection includes periodicals and archaeology journals that are frequently used by Egyptologists, museum staff, and researchers, Steinbock told NBC News. He emphasized that no heritage artifacts were harmed in the incident, as per DW’s report, stating, “At this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive losses in these collections.”
The damaged works include periodicals and archaeology journals consulted regularly by Egyptologists, Louvre staffers and researchers, Steinbock told NBC News.
“No heritage artifacts have been affected by this damage,” Steinbock said, according to DW. “At this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive losses in these collections.”
The damaged books would be “dried, sent to a bookbinder to be restored, and then returned to the shelves,” he added.
French online magazine La Tribune de l’Art painted a different picture, claiming the “dirty water” leak damaged antique bindings badly enough that some were unrepairable. The flood also affected offices — making them unusable for the time being — and down to the next floor, where it came in contact with an electrical cabinet, risking a fire, the outlet said.
La Tribune de l’Art reported staff had been requesting funds from Steinbock to protect the books from leaks, since the pipes were in the ceiling above them. Steinbock told NBC News the pipe was located in one of the museum areas scheduled for a major ventilation and heating system renovation starting next September.
