Art transports through time: How Marie-Antoinettes Lege finds its way into the digital age

Art transports have changed significantly over time. From Marie-Antoinettes legacy to the digital era, the methods and technologies for the transport and storage of works of art have also developed.

The prestigious art pedition Chenue has a long history of 260 years that started in the production of transport boxes for Marie-Antoinette , the Queen of France .

Today Chenue is a leading provider in the field of art transport and has developed an innovative solution with "Moviiu" to transfer the transport of works of art to digital age.

In 1760 André Chenue founded his company, with which he was responsible for the handling of the laundry of Marie-Antoinette at At first he took care of careful packaging of the queen and her children's underwear.

Later Chenue received the order to produce "layettes" -boxes, containers and chests -that were necessary to keep clothing and personal items from Marie -Antoinette safely and to protect during transport.

At that time, travel chests were roughly treated on carriages, so precious clothing had to be meticulously packed in order to arrive at the destination undamaged. With tailor -made boxes and suitcases, the ownership of the queen - as is usual at the time - could be easily transported from Palace to Castle without suffering any major damage.

Challenges of art transport increase in the digital age

requirements for the transport of art are just as challenging as in the past. Where there used to be bumpy country roads, there are today the efficient pack roads and conveyor belts of large shipping companies.

The art trade has long since globalized, thanks to the Internet and e-commerce, collectors from all over the world can participate in online auctions or acquire works of art via online platforms.

social media play a crucial role in marketing artists and their works , since they can present themselves on platforms such as Instagram and can thus communicate with international buyers.

Due to the increasing global art trade, works of art have to cover large distances more and more, while at the same time the customer expectations with regard to faster and cost-effective delivery are increasing-similar to conventional online trading.

Connection of traditional craft with digital solutions

As one of the first companies in the art pedition industry, the Chenue Group used the advantages of digital technology for the transport of works of art.

In cooperation with traditional box makers , whose task it is to carefully pack the highly sensitive works of art, Chenue has an intelligent platform Moviiu . This offers the global art dealer a quick and safe solution for sending works of art.

Using an online tool based on artificial intelligence, art buyers can enter information about delivery details such as pick-up address, delivery address and size of the work of art.

Within a few seconds, the artificial intelligence then determines the transport price , the shipping conditions and the optimal packaging size - whereby these are still produced by specialized box makers.

After completing the ordering process, the customer is delivered the tailor -made packaging material to his pick -up address. The customer puts his work of art in this box and then instructs the shipping via the website.

Similar to a normal package shipping trade, the customer receives regular updates to every step of transport and delivery at the collector and can pursue the status of his work of art at any time - particularly interesting in high -quality goods.

Easier access to the European market

The European art market becomes even more accessible to foreign collectors through Moviiu . Before auctions, potential buyers can determine the costs for transport via the system, which is cheaper than traditional art peditions.

Customs processing is automatically adopted by Moviiu to export and import countries. Moviiu has been offering intelligent shipping solutions for outgoing transports from Switzerland and France for three years.

With the establishment of new packaging and logistics centers in Berlin and Düsseldorf, art lovers have also been able to buy and send works of art in Germany since November this year.

Over 1,000 works of art have already been sent with this innovative method - with further growth in digital trade in art, there could be many more in the future.

Joachim Rodriguez y Romero

Owner and managing director of Kunstplaza. Publicist, editor and passionate blogger in the field of art, design and creativity since 2011. Successful conclusion in web design as part of a university degree (2008). Further development of creativity techniques through courses in free drawing, expression painting and theatre/acting. Profound knowledge of the art market through many years of journalistic research and numerous collaborations with actors/institutions from art and culture.

www.kunstplaza.de/