A 12-year-old boy has accidentally punched a hole through a centuries-old, $2 million Italian oil painting after he tripped and fell into the piece during an exhibition in Taiwan.

The painting, entitled Flowers by Italian artist Paolo Porpora, dates back to the 1600s and is part of a collection of 55 artworks on show in the country’s capital, Taipei.

Video footage released by the organisers showed the boy trip over a platform in front of the artwork and then brace himself against the painting to break his fall.

• This country wants pubs open for 68 hours straight
• How to find the tent for you: a buyer’s guide

He then looked around helplessly before walking away.

“The child fell and pressed onto the painting, putting a fist-sized tear in it,” said an employee at TST Art of Discovery, which organised The Face of Leonardo exhibition.

The organisers have decided not to seek damages from the boy’s family, according to China News Agency.

The painting was restored on site on Monday and is now back on exhibition.

A self-portrait by Leonardo Da Vinci worth 200 million euros ($321.6 million) is also being exhibited at the show, according to the exhibition’s website.

It is not the first time a priceless piece of art has been accidentally damaged.

In another instance, gaming tycoon Steve Wynn accidentally poked his elbow through the canvas of a $139 million Picasso painting.

In 2006, a British man smashed a set of 300-year-old Chinese vases after tripping over his shoelaces at a museum in Cambridge.