Packing Fine Art For Shipping

When it comes to exporting artwork overseas the manner in which the art is packed can completely determine whether the art arrives in one piece or if it is damaged in transit.  There are so many options when it comes to how you pack artwork. These vary greatly depending on whether you are packing a sculpture, a glass framed painting or if the piece is particularly large in size.

At Isca Fine Art we have a dedicated packing warehouse and our team of experienced professionals who work out the best and most effective method for packing your art.  In fact, we are regularly reviewing our packing materials and methods to ensure we have the best packing solutions at a competitive cost. 

At Isca Fine Art we want to offer you an insight into how we review our packing methods and why we recommend certain methods for packing art being shipped internationally.

We recently reviewed a new method of packing glass to try and ensure it isn’t broken in transit but that the weight of the packing doesn’t increase the cost for our customer.

We always ensure the art is wrapped initially in a material that will not stick to or damage and mark the art, to keep it in perfect condition.  Then we use bubble wrap to pack the item and protect it from accidental damage that could occur while being moved between vehicles.

The key to successfully packing glass is to ensure limited movement within the case/packaging. All gaps are filled so that any impact on the case does not impact the artwork inside.

For this particular item we choose to build a frame, we always use heat treated and stamped timber.  This means the wood meets the criteria required for shipping internationally.  We decided not to use sterling board for the front and back of the case but instead used triwall (a stronger, thicker but still light cardboard) to make the front and back of the case. We did this as it reduces the weight of the packed artwork and when sending art via airfreight the weight can be the determining factor for cost.

We attached the triwall front and back panels using screws to ensure they were secured all the way around.

The glass vase in question was purchased by Isca Fine Art to allow us to demonstrate how strong and secure our packing methods are.  Having completed packing the vase we proceeded to throw the case from a height multiple times and from multiple angles before opening the case to see if any damage had been caused.  In this instance, there was no damage at all and so we often recommend this method of packing to our customers.

So there you have it, an insight into one of the many methods in which we pack art and antiques and the reasoning behind the choices we made.  If you have artwork or antiques that you would like to pack please get in touch and we can talk you through the method we would recommend for your item. We look forward to hearing from you.