How exhibitions move and who do museums trust to transport valuable exhibits

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

When visiting exhibitions, sometimes you involuntarily wonder how valuable exhibits are transferred from one exhibition site to another, who packs these jewels and what happens if someone steals or spoils a painting or other exhibit.

It turns out that paintings, which are estimated at millions of dollars, begin to be prepared for transportation in a few months. They are carefully checked, an accurate report is drawn up, conservation is carried out, and if there is such a need, the paint is strengthened. After such preparatory measures, special packaging is made for valuable canvases, and it can be different for different transportation methods. It happens that pictures arrive in Moscow by plane, and it happens that they travel from Europe by trucks. But in any case, the priceless works of art will be transported around the capital. As a rule, the organizers order freight from a reliable transport company.

Any collection of works of art has its own curators and curators, who are responsible not only for preparing for transportation and direct transportation, but also for unpacking and installation. The museum, in turn, takes responsibility for storing and exhibiting exhibits in accordance with generally accepted world standards, in particular, humidity and temperature.

Today, in the capital, the companies that help to organize the apartment relocation, the transportation of art objects have not only the usual equipment, but also special trucks with climate control system and soft suspension, in which you can transport the most valuable masterpieces.

And of course, any traveling exhibition is insured. In some cases, the amount of insurance reaches several million dollars. Sometimes one insurance company cannot cope with this, and therefore a syndicate is created. And the insurance contract always prescribes the requirements for transportation and safety, video and fire alarms. So, in the truck that will translate the items of the collection, 2 drivers are always accompanied, and also, without fail, a courier and armed guards.

When a collection arrives at a new museum, the curators who are responsible for it monitor the established storage regime and the condition of the paintings, write reports and maintain special documentation. Both before the start of the exhibition and at the end, the condition of the exhibits is assessed by a third-party restorer. The customs inspection before transportation is carried out directly in the museum, where a temporary customs zone is created for this.