Sawt Falasteen - Dutch peanut butter artwork proves a sticky attraction

The unusual work, a tribute to artist Wim T Schippers who died this year, was on display for two months at the Boijmans van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam.

Peanut butter was spread on a hexagonal floor measuring 25 square metres "as smoothly as possible, without any lumps", according to the artist's instructions.

"Forty-eight visitors made a fatal misstep into the floor," said the museum in a statement summing up the exhibition. "Five phones were fished out."

"There was one licking incident," the statement added, with a spokesperson telling AFP that a young child was thought to be the culprit.

The museum also received 80 complaints in writing or by telephone.

The big question now the exhibition is over: what to do with the hundreds of kilogrammes of used peanut butter?

"We looked into whether the peanut butter could be reused, for example by zoos, animal shelters or sustainable initiatives," museum spokesman Rene Timmermans told AFP.

"However, after being part of the tribute... for eight weeks, we could no longer guarantee its quality, hygiene or food safety."

The peanut butter is therefore destined for the compost heap, he said.

The Dutch are a huge fan of peanut butter, often combining it with "Hagelslag" chocolate sprinkles for a calorie-rich breakfast.

The museum said more than 400 peanut butter sandwiches were served in its cafe.

"The combination with Hagelslag was the most popular."

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST