Low-Fired African Pottery transport

Hi all,

We have some low fired African pottery vessels that are showing signs of salt crystal growth which indicates that they could be quite fragile. This situation cropped up due to a climate control failure within our building. We now need to move the pots to facilitate inspection and treatment by conservation professionals.

Does anyone have any recommendations for materials and techniques to build a handling frame or pallet that would safely support the pottery for transport: first inside the building from one room to another, and then to become the basis for a crate to transport the items to off-site storage after treatment? What types of fill or support have been successful for you?

The vessels range in size from 16 x 16 x 16 to 30 x 30 x 30 inches overall. They tend to have rounded bottoms and don't sit by themselves without some support, which we're using ethafoam rings at the moment to provide. I don't have specific weight figures, and though they can be lifted by one person, I would characterize the larger ones as "kind of heavy".

Thanks for putting some thought into this for us, we appreciate your wealth of collective experience!

Scott Lewis
Colgate University