Water leak in Louvre damages hundreds of books
A water leak at the Louvre Museum in Paris has damaged hundreds of artifacts, just weeks after thieves stole priceless French crown jewels from the museum in broad daylight.
Francis Steinbock, deputy director of the museum, said that between 300-400 works, mostly books, were affected by the leak and the counting was ongoing.
Mr Steinbock told French media that the damage occurred in the Egyptian section and that the volumes were “books studied by Egyptologists” but that “no valuable books” were affected.
Mr Steinbock added that the problem causing the leak, which was discovered in late November, had been known for years and repairs were planned for next year.
The volumes will be dried, sent to the binder, and restored before being returned to the shelves.
Mr. Steinbock described the books as “Egyptology journals” and “scientific documents” from the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
“No heritage works were affected by this damage,” Mr Steinbock told the Agence France-Presse news agency.
“At this stage, we have no irreparable and definitive loss to these collections,” he said.
The leak was the third major problem faced by the most visited museum in the world in recent months.
In November, structural weaknesses led to the partial closure of one of the galleries housing Greek vases and offices, and on October 19 four thieves made off with €88 million (£76 million; $102 million) worth of jewels, exposing glaring security flaws.
The jewels have still not been found and the museum has since moved some of its most valuable jewels to the Bank of France.
A report published in October by France’s public oversight body, known as the Cour des Comptes, criticized the museum’s excessive spending on artworks, saying it was “undermining the maintenance and renovation of the buildings.”
