In the last couple of weeks, we were successful in buying a small collection of Rookwood and a larger high quality grouping of McCoy pottery. Since many of the pottery collections we purchase are often not within driving distance, shipping is sometimes required. Historically, that really hasn’t been a problem as many art pottery collectors have gotten comfortable with the relatively simple requirements for shipping ceramics.
However, for whatever reason in the last month or so we have experienced a significant increase in the number of broken vases we are receiving. For the most part it isn’t a case of USPS or UPS mishandling the items, but rather just very poor packing.
You can tell where I am going with this; much to my dismay several of the new additions to our McCoy and Rookwood pottery inventory were broken in shipment. In addition, within the last month or so we have had Roseville wall pockets and large Roseville baskets shipped to us that arrived in pieces. As such, I thought it might be a good idea to review some simple guidelines for successfully shipping art pottery:
Select a box that provides at least 2" of clearance between the bubble wrapped pottery vase and inside walls of the box.
Wrap your pottery vase with a minimum of 3 layers of bubble wrap paying particular attention to handles and edges. We typically use 2 layers of 3/8" bubble wrap and 1 layer of 3/4".
You don’t have to mummify the vase by using a roll of tape to secure the bubble wrap. We use a rubber band which makes unwrapping both easier and safer.
Pack the box securely with at least 2" of peanuts on all sides of the fully wrapped pottery vase. It is very important to push the peanuts down on all sides to eliminate any air pockets to ensure the vase isn’t shifting around during transport. Other than poor wrapping, loose packing is the most common reason we see for pottery items arriving damaged.
Double boxing is always a good idea for more expensive pottery items. Just make sure that the outside box provides at least 2" of clearance to the inner box and that the space between the boxes is filled with peanuts.
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