Patron sits on, breaks rare chair

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A patron looking for a place to sit at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts found an expensive place to rest.

A man on Sunday disregarded a do-not-touch sign, climbed atop a display platform and sat down on a chair dating to the Ming Dynasty, breaking it in three places.

The late-16th-century hardwood folding chair broke along its horseshoe-shaped back.

Officials said the damage to the chair, worth in the six-figure range, can be repaired.

''We were very fortunate -- the chair backing broke on old break lines,'' said Evan Maurer, director of the museum. ''It's been broken before; that's where it failed. It can be repaired much more easily'' than if it had been broken at a different place.

The chair has been packed up and likely will be sent to the restorer in London who previously worked on the piece. Maurer did not know when it would return to the museum.

Museum officials interviewed the man, whose name was not released, but Maurer said no charges will be filed.