You’ve purchased a valuable piece of art at a renowned gallery to give to a friend. Perhaps you bought it while on vacation and you want to send it home. Understanding the best approach to shipping artwork will help to ensure its safe arrival to the destination. Here are a few helpful tips.
Shipping Artwork Safely: Wrap It Securely
You are responsible for ensuring your artwork is properly wrapped to handle the rigorous and sometimes dangerous journey to its final destination. Begin by asking your shipping company if there are specific procedures for shipping artwork, including what the artwork will be shipped with. Will it be loose in a container or shipped with dangerous items or something sharp that could cause damage?
You need to take precautions when shipping highly valuable items. For optimal security, your artwork will need to be crated. You can either contact World Cargo to crate your artwork or source it out to a third party. However, if sourcing the crating to a third party, the crate must be certified ISPM 15 heat-treated wood.
Packing materials should be included in the crate to keep the artwork from moving around or being tossed about. Label stickers should be prominently placed on the crate if it must stay upright or be secured. Fragile label stickers should be posted on artwork or sculptures so they are handled with care to prevent breakage.
Shipping
You can choose either air or ocean shipping for your artwork. Air will provide faster arrival while ocean shipping will be less costly. Special attention should be paid to securely packing your items and the necessary documentation required for shipment.
Make arrangements for on-site pickup to ensure safe package arrival. A large item may need special equipment to move it to a truck or other transportation.
Protect your investment by purchasing insurance. Don’t assume insurance coverage is included in the shipping. The coverage amount should be adequate for the value of the artwork. Additional insurance for special items like artwork may be required.
The same attention given to acquiring your artwork should be given to protecting its longevity.
