The entire ordeal was caught on a surveillance camera. In the video, a woman attempts to take a selfie with one of several crowns on display. When she crouches down, she suddenly knocks one over and causes a domino effect.
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The crowns are estimated to be worth around $20,000 each.
Eyewitness News reached out to the Hong Kong-based artist, Simon Burch, about the incident. He said no action was taken because the woman, identified only as a student, was "horrified," and it was all "clearly an accident."
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He said some crowns were gold-plated, others were nylon and some were made of mixed materials. Most were fixed with "a bit of glue" and only one was severely damaged.
"They are crowns, and crowns, symbols of power, are fragile things," he said in a statement. "A well-timed selfie could bring down a president, so why not a crown or two?"
Selfie fail destroys $200K worth of art at LA exhibit