‘Preservation of Ikea tea-cup’ (2005) by Maarten Vanden Eynde

When the Ikea catalogue became the most printed book in human history (beating the bible for the first time ever), Vanden Eynde decided to give history a hand and preserve an Ikea tea-cup. Climbed over the fence of Il Foro Romanum, the old city center of Rome, he buried a tea-cup under the observation of a visiting crowd of shocked tourists. The cup is still there, to be discovered by future archaeologists.

‘Genetologic Research Nr. 22: 60937 Ikea-era, 2005 A.D. Rome, Italy’ (2005) by Maarten Vanden Eynde

A new Ikea tea-cup and plate were broken and afterwards restored with restoration paste. It was made in the same week as the intervention work Preservation of Ikea tea-cup.