National Museums Liverpool Terracotta Warriors Object Mounts and Heavy Object Installation

Tender description

China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors at World Museum will be one of the major cultural events in the UK in 2018 and will run from 9 February to 28 October 2018. Showcasing objects from one of the world's greatest archaeological discoveries, this unmissable exhibition spans almost 1,000 years of Chinese history; from the conflicts and chaos of the Warring States period, to the achievements and legacy of the Qin and Han dynasties. It will comprise a loan of internationally important artefacts from Shaanxi Province, China. The loans are being coordinated and managed by Shaanxi Cultural Heritage Promotion Center who will coordinate and manage the loans from c.10 lending institutions in Shaanxi Province. They will also oversee the object installation at World Museum. The exhibition will show 180 ancient Chinese artefacts, ranging from ceramics and metalwork, jade and stone items, a large tomb doorway and 10 large terracotta figures. The majority of the objects will be displayed in cases, however, the terracotta figures and replica bronze chariots will be on open display. Bidders are asked to submit a formal tender for the "Terracotta Warriors Object Mounts and Heavy Object Installation". This documentation has been prepared as part of the tender exercise for the appointment of the Large and Heavy Object Installation and Mounts Contractor. We are seeking a specialist contractor who has wide and extensive experience in the manufacture of museum object mounts and the installation of large museum objects. The contractor will be required to work with the client team to install 41 of the exhibition objects and to design and manufacture mounts for 34 of these objects. Some of these items will be displayed on open display plinths and some will be displayed within cases. The selected contractor will work closely with the design and installation team to deliver the installation of the large and heavy objects, inline with the current project programme and within the defined project budget. Exhibition Fit-Out works have commenced on site, they are due to be complete by 12 January 2018. Following the completion of the fit-out works, the object installation programme will run between 23 January to 05 February 2018. Within this timeframe the large object mounts and installation needs to take place and be coordinated with the Object Installation Team. Prior to installation we would require object mounts to be designed and manufactured ready for installation by 22 January 2018. Some mounts will need to produced/ completed during the installation period. The exhibition will open to the public on 9 February 2018. NML conservators will be condition checking the exhibition objects in China from 4 to 12 January 2018. The successful contractor will need to assess the object list and advise NML on any critical measurements or other details required before the condition checking period so the museum's team in China can collect the necessary information