Lending of material for exhibition

[Goetzdude]

Hi All,

 

I was contacted today by a representative of the Metamorphoses d'Europe organization in Brussels, Belgium asking if I could lend them four or five of my medals for an upcoming show in Oct/Nov of this year in Brussels.

 

They have assured me that care, transport, etc., would be covered but I'd like to know if anyone else has lent any of their collection to a Non-Profit organization and/or museum so I can pick their brain about all the things I must consider before sending the pieces to Europe.

 

Does anyone here have experience in lending and documenting lending requirements to be fulfilled by the brrower. Does anyone work with an organization I might tap for lending information?

 

Any help would be appreciate.

[thedeadpoint]

I think, for the first time anyway, you should get your lawyer to talk to theirs and draw up a safe contract. I know that is an expensive ordeal, but if you're walked through it the first time, perhaps you can negotiate for yourself in further opportunities.

[thedeadpoint]

And I have no experience whatsoever in the anything related to the matter.

 

Congrats though. I hope you go through with it and it works out with everyone.

[Goetzdude]

Thanks....I don't have a lawyer though. If I did, I wouldn't have the money to own a collection. Besides, the medals they want to borrow probably only total 3K in market value.

 

I was thinking more along the lines of some points I'd want to put into an agreement that they'd need to sign before I shipped anything off to them.

 

I really would like to do this though...to me, it's the whole point of collecting...to share the knowledge with others. Nothing steams me more than the museums and numismatic associations that keep their collections hidden away....not only from the public, but from interested researchers.

[thedeadpoint]

You know what you could do? You could email the legal guy that writes the legal column for CoinWorld. I think he'd actually be a great resource. His email address is at the end of the column, I believe. I'll check my CW tonight and will get back to you tomorrow.

[Saor Alba]

Given that the value of the medals is not so high, but that it is a museum and they have been known to have holding/returning issues I would be a bit uneasy about it - since it is not worth getting a lawyer to look at and go through the process of insurance etc - I would not even think about it.

[thedeadpoint]

You know what you could do? You could email the legal guy that writes the legal column for CoinWorld. I think he'd actually be a great resource. His email address is at the end of the column, I believe. I'll check my CW tonight and will get back to you tomorrow.

 

Armen Vartian.

 

He didn't have an email in the column and I can only find contact information through his law firm in Cali. He may be more pricey and less helpful. There goes that idea.

[Dave]

You could talk it over with a representative from a museum near where you live. As an unbiased third party with some knowledge of how things might work, you might get some good tips on how to write a contract with them stipulating return dates, shipping costs and methods, packing, care while in their possession, reimbursement for loss, damage, signs stating 'On loan from the Goetzdude Collection' etc.

 

Interesting proposition, though. Please do let us know how it turns out, and what you are able to find out from your sources.

 

And what a compliment to your obviously impressive collection!

[Goetzdude]

I received this reply from another forum and it was pretty much what I was looking for, however, can anyone think of any other considerations I might want to add? Your help is always appreciated.

 

I'm not aware of any online site or document regarding guidelines for

loaning objects but there are several things that the Lender should

consider.

 

First, the Lender should request a "Facility Report" from the Borrowing

Institution. This is a standard document that all museums send to Lending

Institutions (private lenders can request them) to describe the security,

environmental conditions, staff size, insurance, etc. at their institution.

 

Second, the Lender should request that the museum send him their "Incoming

Loan Agreement". This legal document should contain all the information

regarding the loan, from basic information (like Lender contact info, object

description, dimensions, Lender's insurance value) to more detailed

information (like credit line, photography restrictions if any, special

requests like complimentary copy of the exhibition catalog, etc.)

 

Third, if the Lender commits to the loan he should request a "Certificate of

Insurance" in English which outlines the museum's coverage. The insurance

should be wall-to-wall (i.e., the artifacts should be insured both in

transit and while on the museum's premises for the duration of the loan).

Note: the Lender will need to provide insurance values.

 

Fourth, if the Lender commits to the loan he should prepare detailed

condition reports with color photographs of each medal. The Lender should

sign each condition report before the medals are shipped. The Museum should

check the condition when they arrive and sign off on each report, then check

and sign off again before they ship it back to the Lender.

 

The types of questions the Lender might consider asking are:

 

1) How are the medals being shipped? If they are going from the US to Europe

there will be paperwork (exporting and importing).

2) Who is packing them (Lender or pay professional packers)?

3) Where are the medals being displayed? In a wall case or pedestal case?

With other objects?

4) Will they be in a locked or alarmed display case?

5) Will they be mounted or displayed flat? If mounted who is making the

mounts (a professional familiar with this type of object)?

6) What kind of environmental conditions will be in place inside (and

outside) of the case?

7) Who will be present for the unpacking, condition reporting, and

installation of the pieces? The Lender? The museum's conservator, registrar,

or curator? Who will be present for the de-installation, condition

reporting, and repacking of the pieces?

8) Is a catalog being produced? Can the general public photograph the

medals? Will the museum allow the use of video cameras or tripods in the

exhibition?

[thedeadpoint]

Sounds about right, GD. Do you think the institution is capable of complying?

[Goetzdude]

Sounds about right, GD. Do you think the institution is capable of complying?

 

 

I'm pretty sure they'll do it right...take for instance where the exhibit is taking place, here at the Brussels Town Hall.

 

[banivechi]

You can make a phone call to US Embassy in Brussels, I am sure that there must be an cultural attache and he can give you all legal support.

[Roger]

OK, I found this post searching for info on a medal. After reading the curiousity is getting to me.

My question is how did this turn out?

[YeOldeCollector]

OK, I found this post searching for info on a medal. After reading the curiousity is getting to me.

My question is how did this turn out?

 

I, too, would be very interested in hearing the result.

[Art1.2]

I, too, would be very interested in hearing the result.

 

 

Same for me.

[Goetzdude]

Sorry about that guys....

 

As it turned out, they had all sorts of documentation I had to fill out in order to submit the medals. Since this exhibition was under some arm of the Belgium government I realized I was dealing with high rent professionals.

 

Sent the medals to them certified, the show went on, and I had everything back in it's original condition a week after exhibition closing. Over all it was a very good experience and they seemed to be appreciative. I received several copies of the exhibition catalog crediting me and the karlgoetz.com collection and I was happy to have helped them out.

 

I had plans on traveling over to attend the contributors private showing the night before it opened to the public but decided against it when I was told it was a black tie affair....tux or tails. Not my cup of tea so I excused myself from attending.

 

I don't know if anyone here is aware that I opened my new Goetz site (still needing lots of population) with pages for exhibition and publication pages. Here's the link to the exhibition page.

 

http://www.karlgoetz...px?SubPageId=83

[bill]

The revamped web site is looking good. Congratulations.

[Goetzdude]

Thanks Bill. Lots of work to get it where it is and lots more work to get it where it needs to be. The sales site will be opening in a couple of weeks. The forum will probably have to wait until Fall/Winter.