Top: An ancient porcelain plate dating to the Song Dynasty (960-1279) as it looked before it was accidentally broken.

Bottom: A screenshot from China Central Television (CCTV) shows the plate was broken into six pieces.

Shanghai. A centuries-old porcelain plate from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) that was accidently broken at Beijing's Palace Museum drew more controversy this week after it was shown for the first time to the public on China Central Television news on Monday.

The pictures triggered skepticism because the broken plate shown on TV seemed to be different from the intact one published by the museum earlier on its website, Eastday.com reported yesterday.

After comparing the pictures of the complete one and the broken one, netizens noted they had different shapes and different colors on the bottom. Some even found the identification numbers printed on the plates different.

Experts explained that the museum had more than 50 pieces of Ge kiln plates. The one published on the website was the most intact, best preserved and with the most distinct characteristics. So it was likely that the one shown on the website was not the one accidentally smashed.

The museum, housed in the Forbidden City, was already under fire for not reporting the mishap for nearly a month, stirring up suspicion that it was trying to cover up the incident. Under Chinese law regarding the protection of cultural relics, any incidents should be reported to higher authorities within two hours of their occurrence.

Museum officials said they didn't want to hastily announce the accident until a complete internal investigation was conducted.

"We stopped the testing right after the accident happened. The museum ordered us to finish the investigation within one month. The process was very complicated," Chen Lihua, deputy curator of the museum, told the Beijing Evening News.

The museum said the plate was damaged as researchers were conducting scientific testing.

The museum handed in a detailed report about the accident to the Ministry of Culture and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage on Monday, 28 days after the rare plate was broken into six pieces, the Beijing Evening News said yesterday. The plate was made in Ge kiln, one of the imperial kilns in the Song Dynasty.

The two government cultural agencies are investigating the incident and will publish their findings. By Wang Qingchu www.shanghaidaily.com

Photos of damaged ancient plate raise

Comparison pictures show the difference between images of a 1,000-year-old porcelain plate released by the official website of the Palace Museum (L) and China Central Television (R), Aug 2, 2011. The porcelain plate, a grade-one cultural relic from the Ge kiln called "Celadon Plate with a Mouth in the Shape of Mallow Petals", was crushed and damaged on July 4 when a laboratory researcher used a device to examine it, according to a statement from the museum. The difference has aroused doubts online. Netizens are doubtful of whether pictures are of same plate.

Pictures of the 1,000-year-old porcelain plate that was damaged by error during research have been released by the Palace Museum, Aug 2, 2011. [Photo/CFP]

Pictures of the 1,000-year-old porcelain plate that was damaged by error during research have also been released by China Central Television, Aug 2, 2011. [Photo/CFP] 

Pictures of the 1,000-year-old porcelain plate that was damaged by error during research have also been released by China Central Television, Aug 2, 2011. [Photo/CFP] 

The 1,000-year-old porcelain plate that was damaged by error during research. [File Photo/China Daily]

L'affaire aurait pu se résoudre en interne, si un internaute chinois n'avait révélé l'histoire sur un site internet, affirmant que le musée cherchait à étouffer l'accident, et forçant ainsi les autorités à avouer publiquement cette erreur humaine, 28 jours après les faits.

Le rapport final de la Cité interdite devrait être bientôt soumis au ministère de la Culture et à l'Administration de l'Héritage Culturel, qui devront décider des sanctions à appliquer à l'encontre des responsables.

Mais la polémique continue à enfler sur internet depuis que des photographies du plat endommagé ont été diffusées à la télévision chinoise. Certains internautes doutent maintenant de l'authenticité de la porcelaine montrée par les autorités, trop peu endommagée selon eux... (www.artclair.com)

Mysterious Ge kiln, distinctive porcelain

Censer. Ge kiln, Song dynasty. Palace Museum Beijing

Bowl. Ge kiln, Song dynasty. Palace Museum Beijing

Bowl. Ge kiln, Song dynasty. Palace Museum Beijing

Vase. Ge kiln, Song dynasty. Palace Museum Beijing

A porcelain plate and nine other pieces collected by the Palace Museum within the Forbidden City here in Beijing are products from the Ge kiln. Ge kiln was one of the five most famous kilns in the Song Dynasty from the late tenth century to the late 13th century.

Porcelain products from Ge kiln are among the most coveted for collectors, both for their distinctive quality and for the limited numbers of exiting pieces. It's estimated that there are no more than three hundred porcelain pieces from Ge kiln in the world.

In 1992, a porcelain plate dated to the Song Dynasty fetched 1.54 million US dollars in New York.

The earliest written record of Ge Kiln dates back to Ming Dynasty more than six centuries ago. As one of the top five official kilns run by the government, Ge Kiln is famed for its exquisite veins. The unique style helped earn the porcelain its nicknames such as "ice cracks" or "golden threads."

However, it's a great pity that no one has discovered any clue about where the ancient kiln was located. Even until today, it's one of the biggest mysteries in the history of Chinese porcelain. (http://english.cntv.cn)