Onlookers were horrified when a collector accidentally knocked a US$42,000 sculpture by artist Jeff Koons to the ground on Thursday.

The sculpture, one of Koons ‘Dog Balloons’ smashed into tiny shards and had to be swept into dustpans.

But one onlooker — an art dealer — saw it as an opportunity.

Press PLAY below to hear what the art dealer did next

“This story is pretty funny,” Richard Polsky from Richard Polsky Art Authentication told Ross and Russel.

“His logic was like ‘Wow, this thing is going to be famous and it’s going to be worth a lot more money than $45,000!’.”

Image: Jared Siskin/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images