Artwork Transport for Interior Designers and Art Dealers
An interior designer composes a space. An art dealer builds a selection. Either way, the work ends with a piece arriving at a client’s home, and it has to arrive intact: a painting, a sculpture, a small piece of furniture, a collector’s item, each with its own fragility. You designed, searched, chose. Transport should not be your concern.
It is ours. Moviiu takes care of this final step, from collection to installation at your client’s home if you wish, relying on the international fine art logistics network of the Horus Group and on an online platform that gives you a price in minutes.
Why do interior designers and art dealers need dedicated logistics?
In your line of work, the transaction doesn’t end when the purchase order is signed or the project is completed. Delivery is your client’s very first physical contact with the piece you sourced or designed for them. Your project comes to life the moment the crate is opened.
That standard rests on three essential pillars: packing to protect, ensuring full traceability and mastering border crossings.
On top of that come logistics constraints specific to your business:
Multiple collection points
Your pieces rarely come from a single place. A craftsman’s workshop, a fellow antique dealer, a remote storage unit or a partner gallery: collections have to be coordinated before even thinking about shipping.
A wide variety of formats
A large painting, a fragile light fitting, a bronze sculpture or a pair of vases each call for completely different bracing and packing.
Peace of mind at the door
The artwork must arrive in perfect condition at your client’s home, with clear tracking and a delivery slot that is respected, to avoid any friction at the end of the project.
Confidential transactions
Your end client’s address, the provenance of the works and the negotiated price are sensitive information you need to protect.
To meet these challenges, Moviiu combines the network expertise of the Horus Group with an online interface designed for the pace of the art market. You hand over the logistics; your clients receive their piece at their door, with complete peace of mind.
The last metre counts as much as the thousand kilometres before it
For a designer or a dealer, the challenge doesn’t end once the piece is shipped. What makes the difference is a smooth delivery: no delayed parcel, no lack of information on arrival, no vague tracking for your client.
Moviiu provides smooth, controlled doorstep delivery. Your recipient follows the shipment in real time and receives the piece in person at their door, fully protected in its secure packaging.
Moviiu offers two levels of delivery, to choose according to the piece, the location and what your client expects.
Door-to-door delivery
The artwork is shipped by DHL Express, FedEx or UPS to the recipient’s address. The recipient is informed of the expected delivery date and a time slot. If they are not in on the first attempt, they arrange a new date directly with the carrier.
White-glove delivery
The artwork goes through the warehouse of one of our sister companies, then is delivered and, if needed, installed on site by specialist handlers. The service can include unpacking, installation, hanging paintings and assembling works. Your clients see no box and no bracing: they discover the piece in its place. This service is available in selected cities, contact us to check availability at the delivery address.
What we transport for your projects
The Moviiu instant quote covers most of the objects that move through an interior design project or a transaction between dealers:
Paintings, drawings, photographs and prints
Up to 180 × 147 × 25 cm, frame included.
Sculptures, antiques, small furniture, decorative objects, jewellery and watches
Up to 104 × 60 × 57 cm.
Each piece receives packaging made to its dimensions, in reinforced triple-wall cardboard lined with high-density foam, designed to absorb shocks and vibrations.
Beyond these sizes, or for a marble piece, a large item of furniture or a whole lot to ship from the same place, we prepare a custom offer outside the online quote. Write to us at info@moviiu.com.
Already have your own crates?
Art dealers often have their own packing equipment. In that case, we don’t supply packaging: you get your online quote instantly by entering the outer dimensions of your crate or box, print the shipping label and arrange the collection.
Good to know before you choose: Moviiu transport insurance cannot be taken out for an artwork travelling in packaging that isn’t ours. If the piece is valuable, Moviiu packaging remains the way to insure it.
When the piece isn't at your premises
A bespoke piece leaving your cabinetmaker’s workshop, a light fitting ready to ship from the manufacturer, an artwork bought from an antique dealer or stored at a fellow dealer’s: the collection point is rarely your own address.
With white-glove collection, our handlers pick up the piece at the collection address you give and bring it to our warehouse, where our packers prepare it before shipping.
Without this option, Moviiu packaging is sent directly to the collection address within two days of confirmation, with a video tutorial for packing. You then schedule the collection from the notification email or from your account.
Shipping regularly? Negotiated terms
If you ship pieces every week, you are not an occasional client. For regular shipments, we offer negotiated rates: contact us to discuss them.
Day to day, your Moviiu client account brings together everything you need to follow several projects at once:
- all your quotes and shipments, in progress or completed,
- details of every object shipped,
- real-time tracking of every shipment,
- collection scheduling,
- your invoices, downloadable as soon as payment is processed, and your customs documents.
It is available on mobile, computer or tablet, 7 days a week. And if a client changes address, a project runs late or an order needs adjusting, just contact us: we take care of rescheduling.
Case studies: two real-life situations
Paris ➔ Lausanne
Requirement: A Paris-based interior designer delivers a framed painting and a pair of designer lamps, sourced from two different addresses in Paris, to a Swiss client.
Moviiu logistics solution: White-glove collection at each address, packing by our teams, transport, then white-glove delivery in Lausanne with unpacking, hanging of the painting and installation of the lamps.
Munich ➔ Brussels
Requirement: An art dealer sells a small bronze to a Belgian client who wants to place it themselves.
Moviiu logistics solution: Door-to-door delivery: instant quote, Moviiu packaging delivered to the showroom, proforma invoice, export and import customs clearance, home delivery with real-time tracking.
Insurance and taxes: what you need to know before confirming
Transport insurance: selected when you request your quote, ad valorem insurance covers the artwork from the collection point to delivery, with no excess, up to €100,000 for artworks and €25,000 for jewellery, for 1% of the value with a minimum of €20. It only applies to shipments packed in Moviiu secure packaging. Above these ceilings, we prepare a custom offer.
Taxes on arrival: for international shipments, we prepare the proforma invoice needed for customs clearance. In the destination country, the recipient is informed of any import taxes, which they must pay and which are requested by the partner carrier or the selected broker before delivery can take place. These amounts depend on local regulations and cannot be estimated in advance. Something to plan with your client when the artwork crosses a border outside the European Union.
If damage is found on delivery, reporting it within 72 hours with photos means the claim is processed within 15 days.
Getting your Moviiu quote: how it works
Less than two minutes, no sign-up:
1. Addresses
Collection point, at your premises, a supplier’s or a fellow dealer’s, and your client’s delivery address.
2. The piece
Type of object, overall dimensions including the frame, weight and value. If it is already packed, enter the outer dimensions of the crate.
3. Services
White-glove collection and delivery if you wish, transport insurance.
4. Confirmation
Electronic signature, with shipping documents generated straight away.
You designed, searched, chose.
We take care of the rest, right up to the piece installed at your client’s home.