The Portland Vase by sourbugger
The Portland Vase is arguably the most famous and certainly the most influential piece of ancient glass in the world (1st century Roman) . Its' blue and white cameo appearance served as a source of inspiration for the potter Josiah Wedgwood. Now comes the interesting bit : some bloke in 1845 got completely rat-arsed over a few days, walked into the British Museum and smashed up the glass case and the vase. Rather oddly for some strange legal reason he was only spent time in jain for smashing up the case ! Some anonymous doner paid the fine and he got out in a matter of daysAs it was smashed to pieces, and despite the effects of a big tube of glue, a prize of ?1000 was offered to anyone who could reproduce it. The challenge was taken up by John Northwood, who engraved the frieze, a task which, begun in 1873, was not completed until 1876. The copy was highly acclaimed, and gave rise to a fashion for cameo glass which lasted until the end of the century,
You can see a ststue of the man, and of the vase outside an entrance to the Merry Hill shopping centre. (big out-of-town center : see other tips)