Collaborative Transit Study with Getty Museum

Though many museums rely on outside companies to pack objects for transport, some large museums retain an internal preparations staff with access to a range of suitable packing materials.

The Preparations department at the Getty Museum has earned a reputation for employing high-quality cases for the transport of loaned objects. They regularly use a double-crate packing technique, particularly for three-dimensional pieces and panel paintings, that houses an object inside an interior box that is then enclosed within an exterior box.

Within the packing case and at its base, Getty preparators employ a range of cushioning foams, including Sorbothane cylinders and rings that absorb shock and isolate and dampen vibration. Determining how much isolation material to use within a case is based on the physical properties of the cushioning materials as reported by the manufacturer and the dimensions and weight of the object. However, verification of a material’s ability to mitigate shock and vibration during transit is rarely conducted.

Working with the Getty Museum Preparations and Conservation departments (as well as select external institutions), the project team conducted studies of interior and exterior shock, vibration, temperature, and relative humidity during the transit of crated objects. While temperature and relative humidity sensors are more commonly deployed, the use of accelerometers to assess shock and vibration on crates has been limited.

Accelerometers were arrayed from the exterior of the case (including the truck floor) to near the object inside the crate, allowing us to assess the ability of crate construction to absorb shock and dampen vibration.

While the bulk of monitoring occurred when the crate was in a truck or airplane, special attention was given to transitions between these modes of transit, as handling of crated artifacts at departure and arrival points or at intermediate junctions can pose added risk of damage.