Ran Lior of the Israel Museum says the item, a gold-glass base of a 4th century Roman funerary vessel, broke along a previously repaired crack.
He said today the museum has restored the item and returned it to the display.
The artifact includes a Latin inscription and a depiction of a Christian couple with their children.
It is one of some 300 ancient Roman and Near Eastern artifacts donated to the museum this year by Robert and Renee Belfer. The artifacts are on public display for the first time.
