As soon as you decide to ship artwork internationally, you will need to master all the nuances of preparing for this undertaking and implementing it in practice. The procedure requires much preparatory work and comes with nuances of cross-border art moving, which you should know inside out to avoid legal trouble.
Things You Can’t Ignore When You Ship Artwork Internationally
Packaging
All art objects are delicate and vulnerable, regardless of their size and medium. Therefore, they require comprehensive packaging before international shipment, which is aimed at ensuring their protection from all kinds of impact or damage. If you’re new to professional art packaging techniques and materials, it makes sense to hire an expert team that will come to your place to complete the task.
It is also important to discuss the need for custom crating of your artwork, as many art objects can’t be shipped and insured without this protective measure. While some consider this extra safety measure an avoidable expenditure, in most cases of overseas transportation, the carrier won’t assume responsibility for your artwork without a crate. Thus, you should check these issues in advance to plan for the crating procedure accordingly.
International Transportation Insurance
The next step is insuring your art object. You will need to buy a comprehensive insurance plan that will protect your art object at all stages of international transportation. This insurance may be different than the plan covering domestic shipping, and you need to discuss all the stages of shipping with your insurance provider so that they include all protective clauses to guarantee your peace of mind for the entire transit.
Documentation Package
Like humans who can’t cross the borders without showing their passports and visas, artworks are also subject to stringent control at customs in every country. These protective measures are arranged to prevent smuggling, fraud, and other illegal activities with artwork. Thus, you will need to prepare the full package of documents for your art object, which may include:
- Invoice for the artwork.
- A detailed artwork description.
- A statement of its value.
- Documentation that clarifies whether the art object enters the country for a temporary or permanent stay (whether it was sold to the country’s resident or comes to an exhibition or art fair as an exhibit).
As you can see, there is much to be done before you ship artwork internationally. Make sure you factor in all these procedures into the process of preparing for overseas shipping. Only this way can you be sure that the process will go smoothly.