Three-dimensional, heavy, large, and irregular-size pieces of art, such as sculptures, are not easy to handle during transportation. They require particularly careful packing and protection, especially if there are delicate and easy-to-damage details. Since they are also often heavy, doing everything alone may not always be possible. If you consider shipping sculptures yourself, there are many other things to keep in mind.
Below, you will learn about the pros and cons of handling transportation on your own, what to consider when transporting sculptures, and when professional help with sculptures is indispensable.
Advantages of Transporting Sculptures Yourself
The main advantage of transporting a sculpture on your own is that you are in full control of the transportation method and timing. If you have a small sculpture that can easily fit into your car, there is no reason to waste money and time on shipping services. For bigger sculptures, you can rent a truck and ask your friends or family members to help with loading and unloading. Handling the transportation on your own is the most affordable and convenient option for short-distance moves (e.g., when you move into a new house).
Risks of Shipping Sculptures Yourself
However, the above option is great when we are talking about small or medium-sized sculptures that are not too fragile or expensive. When it comes to truly remarkable and rare art pieces, the risks of transportation on your own are just not worth it. Valuable sculptures need to be evaluated and insured before shipping, and they also require high-quality packing in specialized materials.
You can also encounter many challenges if you are shipping sculptures internationally. Documentation, insurance, customs clearance – there are simply too many things to handle and too many things that can go wrong. That’s why hiring fine art packing and shipping services is strongly recommended for shipping expensive sculptures internationally.
When to Consider Hiring Professionals
Deciding whether or not to engage professional shipping services may be difficult. We get it, the cost of such services can be high, so you want to make sure that they will be worth every penny. You can benefit from hiring professional services in the following cases:
- If you need to ship an expensive, extremely valuable sculpture.
- If a sculpture is delicate, ancient, or has fine pieces that can easily chip during transportation.
- When you don’t have a crate or special materials to pack the piece safely.
- When you ship internationally.
If you want to learn more details, contact the Fine Art Shippers team for customer-tailored advice.