The Art of Transporting Ancient Artefacts Around the World
This article first appeared on the Museums + Heritage Advisor website in 2013, but as the original article has since been archived on that site and seems to have lost its illustrations and author attribution I thought I'd re-post it here for posterity ...
This article first appeared on the Museums + Heritage Advisor website in 2013, but as the original article has since been archived on that site and seems to have lost its illustrations and author attribution I thought I'd re-post it here for posterity ...
Conservation of a 2nd century Roman statue of Dionysos, part of the first major British Museum exhibition to travel to China |
The British Museum has an extensive
loans programme which sees us staging major exhibitions both at home and
abroad. We are now lending more of the collection than at any other point in
the museum’s history, enabling more people than ever before to encounter the
wide range of material culture that the museum has in its care. Objects of all
types, and of all shapes and sizes are being seen beyond the confines of
Bloomsbury, but how does this happen? How does a two ton sculpture or a
delicate piece of jewellery find itself transported from London halfway around
the world?
Arriving in China, unloading at the Airport |
Every month objects from our
collection leave the museum travelling far and wide. Often the preparation for
such journeys begin months or even years in advance of an exhibition’s opening.
Whether the exhibition is to be held in a museum on the other side of London or on the other
side of the world the logistics behind transporting fragile objects requires
careful planning. Before leaving the British Museum all objects must be
assessed by our conservators to see whether or not they are stable enough to
travel, and, if they are particularly fragile we have to decide what needs to
be done in order to transport them safely. A detailed photographic record is
made of each object so that its condition can be carefully monitored as it
journeys from London to its intended venue. Our photographers also create
stunning, high quality images of each object which will be used to illustrate
the exhibition catalogue and other publicity material promoting the exhibition.
Our curators write or contribute towards the accompanying text for the
catalogue, information panels, and object labels helping to tell the individual
stories of each artefact, setting them in the relevant context of the
exhibition’s theme. Our museum assistant and heavy object handling teams make
the individual mounts which are used to support the objects while on display, and
they will also attend to the careful packing which ensures each object reaches its
destination safely. Parallel to all this activity there’s plenty of
communication passing back and forth between the shipping agent, the borrower,
and the British Museum as our project team liaise with all partners in order to
ensure the exhibition is a success.
Completing
import procedures with Chinese Customs Officers
|
When it comes to preparing our
objects for transportation and display all aspects are done by hand. Object
mounts and packing are feats of bespoke tailoring. No two objects are alike,
not even if they are of the same type. One ancient Greek vase will have repairs
in areas where another has none. When crafting mounts or packing an object we
always have to begin with a blank sheet on the drawing board. Object mounts are
often intricate marvels of exact model-engineering. Clear acrylic is cut and
shaped to size, then heated and bent to the appropriate form. The perfect mount
is the mount which best supports and safeguards the object, displaying that
object in whatever manner the exhibition requires, whilst also remaining as
discrete and unobtrusive as possible. Packing materials must also best fit the
object. Nearly all categories of object are packed in foam, but foam comes in a
variety of types. The appropriate grade or density must be selected; soft
enough to cushion the object, but firm enough to give it support. The foam then
needs to be cut and shaped around the object, avoiding contact with delicate or
protruding areas where such close contact could cause damage, yet sufficiently
bedding the object in so that it won’t shift during transport. The factors to
be considered and the techniques used are often as varied and unique as the
objects themselves; necessarily it is a painstaking and time consuming task. Large
and heavy sculptures are often mounted on specially constructed modules for
increased safety in both handling and display. Occasionally certain kinds of
objects – for instance delicate ivories, such as the Lewis Chessmen – will
require special conservation materials to be included in order to maintain
steady environmental conditions whilst in transit, and, of course, all objects
are wrapped in protective inert materials.
Condition checking objects with colleagues at the Capital Museum, Beijing |
Once on the move the crated objects
are escorted at all stages of their journey by British Museum staff. Whether by
road, rail, air, or occasionally by sea, our couriers supervise the safe loading
and unloading of whatever mode of transport is being used. If a considerable
distance must be covered the transportation can often be a long and arduous
journey that requires an equal amount of patience and stamina. Travelling at
odd hours of the day or night in all weathers, crossing time zones, or, waiting
through long hours in airport cargo sheds for customs paperwork to be processed
is all part and parcel of the couriers’ role. “A five hour stopover in Azerbaijan!” one courier still marvels of a
journey which effectively spanned three very long days.
Installing a 9th century Indian sculpture of the Goddess Chunda |
Once arrived, we work with our
counterparts at the exhibition venue, checking the condition of each object in
forensic detail as it is unpacked. After which we install the artefacts in their
showcases, attending to the final adjustments of display, ensuring that
everything is safe and secure, before the exhibition opens to the public.
Visitors
queuing to see the British Museum’s ‘Treasures of the World’s Cultures’ exhibition
at the Capital Museum, Beijing, 2006
|
Working with our colleagues in
other institutions is always a mutually rewarding experience, enabling a close
collaboration thereby sharing and expanding our skills and knowledge at all
levels. Together we can gain a better understanding of material culture through
making academic comparisons of our collections side-by-side, but on a practical
level we can also learn and share our technical knowledge of different
techniques for the safest handling, display, and storage of such objects. Likewise,
such collaborations are a way of strengthening international relationships on a
variety of different levels. It is a genuinely positive endeavour.
Visitors to the Capital Museum in Beijing admire the 2nd century statue of Dionysos |
A programme of touring exhibitions
enables us all to engage with the past and learn more about the diversity of
cultures. It is a way for us to reflect on our world, how it has changed, and
how it is changing. It’s about the past and the future as seen from the here
and now.
Tim Chamberlain joined the British Museum in 1991 and has worked in several different antiquities departments. Since 2005 he has been the BM's project coordinator for international touring exhibitions.
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