MTAB brings the terracotta army to Stockholm
Parts of the world famous terracotta army from China are now in place at the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities in Stockholm. This unique exhibition, which is being displayed in a quite spectacular setting, also contains more recent finds from similar burial sites. MTAB handled the whole shipping process from Xian to Stockholm.
For the first time ever, the exhibits are going to be displayed underground, in the secret caverns below the museum, on the island of Skeppsholmen in the heart of Stockholm. This setting is strongly reminiscent of the environment in which the artefacts were originally found.
40°C
The curator of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities and a team of around 20 people worked intensively for seven days, checking and packing the 316 exhibits.
“The packing went very well, although the conditions were tough, with a temperature of 40 degrees, a fast pace and unique objects that have to be handled with the utmost care,” explains Lars-Erik Barkman, the museum’s senior curator.
Most of the artefacts were packed in separate inner crates and then placed in larger transport crates. The huge terracotta soldiers and the bronze carriage and four horses took three days to pack. The figures were first placed upright in the specially adapted crates, before being laid down and sealed up with a lid.
Major task
There were now around 75 cubic metres and a total weight of about 12 tonnes of unique cultural treasures ready for shipping to Sweden – first by road on four art trucks to Beijing, then by air to Copenhagen, and then on two art trucks with trailers to Stockholm.
“This is a fantastic but complex large-scale project,” comments Jennifer Nilsson, MTAB’s project manager in the Art & Exhibitions department, who managed the whole shipping process from Xian to Stockholm. “Our partner in China, shipping company Huaxie, transported the complete exhibition from Xian to Beijing on four trucks, where it was then loaded onto a cargo plane bound for Copenhagen.”
Built a marquee
In Copenhagen, the artefacts were met by a courier from the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, who stayed with them all the way to Stockholm. The exhibition obtained its customs clearance at MTAB’s security warehouse and from there it was driven to the museum over a few days.
“Some of the crates were too big to get into the caverns, so we had to erect a large marquee outside the entrance for the truck to drive into so that the artefacts could be unpacked,” says Jennifer. “We also built a temporary 63 m transport route in, so that the crates wouldn’t vibrate as we manoeuvred them into place.
MTAB had its own personnel on site throughout the unpacking process.”
Facts
Packing Xian:
Approx. 320 artefacts
38 crates
75 cubic metres
12 tonnes
Transport China
4 trucks
1,400 km
1 overnight stop
Transport Copenhagen
Air China cargo flight
Transport Stockholm
1 specialist trailer
1 art truck with trailer
4 drivers plus courier
Unpacking Stockholm
Customs clearance via MTAB
Interim storage at security warehouse
Delivery to caverns under Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities
Specialist solution with marquee to unpack largest artefacts
Delivery of specialist display units (20°C and 50% air humidity)
Positioning of all artefacts
Visit the exhibition
China’s Terracotta Army is a unique exhibition in a similarly unique setting. The exhibition focuses on the Qin and Han dynasties from 221 BC to 220 AD, with exhibits from 11 museums, five imperial burial sites and over ten different burial sites in the Shaanxi province.
The exhibition opens on 28 August 2010 and will be on display in the caverns below the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities on Skeppsholmen until 16 January 2011. Tickets can be booked at www.ostasiatiska.se. Around 24,000 tickets have already been sold.