Carved by Venetian sculptor Tullio Lombardo in 1493, the statue of Adam crashed to the floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art around 6:00 p.m., after the museum had closed. The 2002 incident is back in the news as the restored statue is returned to view.

While the reconstruction of the statue is getting a lot of play, not much has been reported on the fate of the plywood pedestal that had been left the bear that heavy burden - probably for years - without much attention. No double the ever-changing positioning of museum displays means pedestals get routinely upended. But given the weight of Lombardo's Adam, curators were probably not eager to move it around much.

The restoration of the statue includes a video that shows it's original position in the gallery, atop a display box, resting on a four-inch medium-density plywood box, all painted a neutral color. (It shows briefly in the video below.)

But making great museum-quality pedestals is serious business, and a lot is riding on the quality. That's why pro's have to do it.

WW Pedestals in Mundelein, IL has a lot of experience to draw on for its museum pedestals. The wood manufacturing firm also produces retail displays, counters and trade fixtures for over 200 major retail store locations, including pedestals in 170 Crate & Barrel retail locations in North America - a retail outlet that elevates the presentation of home furnishings and dry goods to a a museum caliber.

"The projected in-service life of our pedestals is 10 years in high traffic retail environments," the company says. Rectangular display pedestals can support up to 300 lbs., through use of lock miter construction to increase the glue surface and structural strength of the pedestals.

"All pedestals, including museum pedestals are precisely machined using advanced CNC routers and cross locking corners are installed to add structural integrity at the bottom."