Art shipping across Italy and Europe. Dedicated or groupage.
A painting, a sculpture or a whole collection: we help you choose between dedicated transport and groupage. We ship for galleries, companies and private clients, by road, air and sea.
Which document mistakes stop goods?
Incomplete documents, or documents that do not match
An invoice missing the required details, a packing list that does not match the packages, a consignee written in two different ways: these are the most common causes of a customs hold. That is why we ask for the documents before departure and compare them with each other, rather than discovering the mistake at the checkpoint.
A destination never verified
We sometimes receive delivery addresses that nobody has checked and that, on verification, turn out to be incomplete or non-existent. The goods then stop. Before shipping we verify that the consignee and address exist and are consistent with the documents.
Answers to the most common questions.
Is dedicated transport or groupage better for my work?
Dedicated transport suits works that are very fragile, large or of high value, and cases where the delivery date cannot change. Groupage suits one or a few works well protected by a wooden crate, when you have some leeway on dates. Tell us what you are sending and where, and we will suggest the sensible option and explain the differences.
Do you ship a single painting for a private client?
Yes, we ship a single painting or sculpture, for private clients as well as galleries and companies. We collect from the address you give, prepare the bespoke packing or crate and deliver to destination. One contact guides you through each step and explains which details and documents are needed, even if this is the first time you have sent a work of art.
Can a work travel safely by groupage?
Yes, if it is packed properly. In groupage the work shares the vehicle with other consignments and is handled more often than on a direct run, so the protection has to be adequate: normally a made-to-measure wooden crate. That is why we always consider packing and mode of transport together, and do not suggest groupage when the work does not allow it.
How is the work insured during the journey?
On request we arrange All Risks nail-to-nail cover, based on the value you give us. It applies to both dedicated transport and groupage. For the cover to stand up, the packing must be adequate and done by a professional: a work sent in a cardboard box leaves you open to a dispute with the insurer if there is damage.
Are documents needed to send a work to another European country?
Inside the European Union no customs formalities apply, but some works, older ones in particular, may need an authorisation to leave Italy. For Switzerland, the United Kingdom and other non-EU countries a customs declaration is also required, which we prepare through our in-house customs office as an Authorised Economic Operator. We check your case with you before fixing the collection.
Dedicated transport or groupage?
Two ways for a work to travel
A work of art can travel on its own or alongside other consignments. With dedicated transport the vehicle sets off for you: it loads your work, follows the route we have agreed and unloads at destination. With groupage the work shares the vehicle with other goods heading for the same area, and the cost of the journey is split between several senders. Neither option is better in every case. It depends on the work, its value, the dates and the delivery address. Dalè Silvio arranges both from Brescia, where we have been based since 1956, and tells you plainly which one suits your case.
When dedicated transport makes sense
Dedicated transport is the natural choice when the work is very fragile, large or of high value, and you want as few loadings and unloadings as possible. It also makes sense when dates cannot move: the opening of a fair, an event, an appointment with the person receiving the work. It suits collections and deliveries with awkward access that call for a vehicle and crew chosen for the job, or cases where there are many works and they take up much of the load by themselves. Here you decide the day and time, and we build the journey around them.
When groupage makes sense
Groupage makes sense when there is one work or only a few, when it is protected by a sturdy wooden crate and when you have some leeway on dates. The work travels with other consignments and is loaded and unloaded more often than on a direct run, which is why packing matters even more in groupage. In return, the cost reflects the space taken up instead of the whole vehicle. It is the option galleries often use for distance sales, artists use to send a work to a client, and buyers use when they purchase in another city or another European country.
Shipping a single painting or sculpture
You do not need a collection to come to us. Many enquiries concern a single painting that has been sold, given or inherited, or a sculpture to be taken to a new home. All we need is the size including the frame, an approximate weight, the technique, the value if you want the work insured, and the collection and delivery addresses. With that we recommend suitable packing and a transport option, dedicated or groupage. For one piece groupage is often the sensible route, provided the work leaves in a made-to-measure crate.
For private clients too
We also ship works for people who are not in business and have never done it before. A private client usually does not know the paperwork, is unsure how to pack and has no office to follow things up. So we give you one contact who explains each step, tells you what to prepare and stays with you from start to finish. We collect from your home, do the packing and deliver to the address you give us, be it a home, a gallery or an auction house. If the destination is outside the European Union, we take care of customs as well.
Road, air, sea
Within Italy and Europe, works travel mainly by road: the lorry collects and delivers door to door and keeps intermediate handling down. Air comes into play when the distance is long or dates are tight: we are IATA cargo agents and book space with the airlines. Sea is for bulky shipments to countries overseas. A journey often combines more than one mode, for example a road collection and a flight. Our job is to make them fit together, so that the work is looked after at each change of vehicle as well.
Collection, delivery and white-glove service
The most delicate part of a shipment is often not the journey but the collection and the delivery: stairs, lifts, narrow doorways, floors to protect. With our white-glove service the work is collected and handed over by people used to handling art, with the care the name suggests. We deliver to galleries, fairs and events, as well as to homes and offices. Before departure we ask what access is like at both addresses, which floor the work is on and whether there are time restrictions, so the vehicle and crew arrive prepared.
Insurance and customs
On request the work travels under All Risks nail-to-nail insurance, that is, from the moment it leaves the wall at origin until it reaches the wall at destination. Between European Union countries there are no customs formalities; for Switzerland, the United Kingdom and other non-EU countries a declaration is required. We prepare it through our in-house customs office: Dalè is an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO). Older works may need an authorisation to leave Italy even for another European country, and it is worth checking before fixing the date.
The mistakes that hold a shipment up
The first concerns the address: a wrong street number, or a consignee who is away or does not know the work is coming. Check the name, phone number and availability of whoever is receiving it. The second is incomplete paperwork: shipments abroad need a clear description of the work, its value and the sender's and consignee's details, identical on every document. The third is choosing groupage to save money and then presenting the work in makeshift packing. The fourth is deciding everything alone: ask our advice before you pack and before you promise a date to the person waiting for the work.
