The Palace Museum has admitted many facts about the damage first unveiled on Internet. On Sunday, managers of the Palace Museum confirmed the damage was caused by an accident that occurred while conducting research that involved examining the artifact with an analytical device.

Porcelain plate of Ge kiln damaged by Palace Museum (File photo)

Despite the complex damage, the museum said there is still hope to recover the relic.

The porcelain plate is a grade-one cultural relic from the Ge Kiln, entitled as it looks, "Celadon Plate with a Mouth in the Shape of Mallow Petals".

It broke into 6 pieces on July 4th, when a laboratory had made a mistake in operating the device. They caused a platform holding the plate to rise too high.

As for the delayed report on the damage, the museum explained they need time for experts to analyze and make a conclusion on the reason for the damage.

The museum also revealed that since last year, more than 50 ancient ceramic items had been examined during research without causing damage.