HONG KONG — If Tony Abbott’s ouster as Australia’s prime minister was a shock to his supporters, few felt it more sharply than whoever was dancing on the Italian marble table at a party in Mr. Abbott’s offices that night.

The marble, like Mr. Abbott’s support, collapsed dramatically. The tale of the table has been the talk of Australian political circles since Monday, when it officially emerged before a Senate committee. Department of Parliamentary Services staff members explained how the government-owned table was found in pieces on the morning of Sept. 15, the day after Malcolm Turnbull defeated Mr. Abbott to become leader of the Liberal Party and Australia’s prime minister.

Mr. Abbott said later Monday that he had hosted drinks that night in his cabinet offices and would pay for the damage. “It was my event so I take responsibility for it,” he said in a written statement. The bronze-framed coffee table cost 590 Australian dollars when it was purchased in the late 1980s, but its replacement or repair would cost several times that today, Australian news reports said.