During a recent attempt to insulate Michelangelo's David from the footsteps of visitors, the senior restoration and preservation manager discovered a seam covered with a century of dust.
The manager explains:"At first I thought it was a crack, fear shot through my heart! But the more I cleaned I realized this was an opening to something inside the statue!"
After almost a year of careful study and deliberation including hundreds of x-rays, the team of experts were able to open the chamber on the base of the statue and reveal the contents.
A full spectrum of ancient pigments possibly leftover from some of Michelangelo's greatest works were found inside.
An auction was held and the pigments were sold to the Crayola Company for a record 88 million dollars. Crayola's CEO later commented stating "These pigments will be analyzed and reproduced for our Portfolio Series under the name Michelangelo's Pallet."
