Loan Department

Loans of objects from the National Museum in Warsaw's collection

The National Museum in Warsaw makes thousands of objects available each year for public display in museums, galleries and other cultural institutions. Museum artefacts are also lent for research and conservation purposes. The participation of our exhibits in various projects is a significant recognition and confirmation of the Museum's mission.

How to apply for the loan

Preparing an application
Before submitting an application, we invite institutions interested in lending objects from the National Museum in Warsaw's collections to carry out searches in the individual collections. Should you have any questions, please contact .

We also encourage you to use the Digital collections of the National Museum in Warsaw website, where we publish our collections progressively.

If you plan on lending highly valuable museum artefacts or a large number of objects, please contact the Directorate of the National Museum in Warsaw to discuss the terms and conditions of the loan and possible cooperation before making a formal request.

Information to be included in the application:

• Purpose of the loan (exhibition, deposit, research project, research, conservation),
• Details of the objects covered by the application, including their inventory numbers,
• Planned period of the loan,
• Contact details of the persons responsible for organising the loan.

In case of exhibitions, the application should additionally include:

• Title as well as opening and closing dates of the exhibition,
• Place of exhibition or permanent display,
• Factual description of the planned exhibition,
• Note on the planned publication and the possible participation of National Museum in Warsaw's staff.

Acceptance of applications
A formal application must be made in writing at least six months before the intended date of lending. If the request concerns a larger number of museum artefacts (more than 10), the letter should be submitted to the Directorate of the National Museum in Warsaw at least one year before the planned exhibition. Any amendments to extend the application to include additional objects will have the status of a new loan application and will be dealt with separately taking into account the above deadlines.

Please address any requests for loan to:

Prof. Agnieszka Lajus
Acting Director of the National Museum in Warsaw
Al. Jerozolimskie 3
00-495 Warszawa, Poland

 

Processing of applications

The application is considered by the Director of the National Museum in Warsaw on the basis of the opinions of the curators of the Collections and Cabinets and the conservators. The decision takes into account, among other things:

• Application deadline,
• National Museum in Warsaw's exhibition plans,
• Preservation of the objects requested for loan / covered by the application,
• Storage and display conditions at the new site,
• Scenario for an exhibition or permanent display and accompanying publications.

Initial information on the decision taken is provided within three months of the application.

 

Safety and conditions

Before signing a contract, institutions interested in lending objects belonging the National Museum in Warsaw will be required to fill out a questionnaire on exhibition and conservation conditions (the form is downloadable at the bottom of this page), pertaining to the storage or display locations of the museum artefacts. The questionnaire is reviewed by the Conservation Research Laboratory, along with the Internal Security of the National Museum in Warsaw. The review aims to assess whether the proposed exhibition site offers adequate environmental conditions and protection for the exhibits.

National Museum in Warsaw reserves the right to send its representatives at the Applicant's expense to check conditions on site. Furthermore, the Museum retains the right for its staff to supervise the transport and all activities related to the objects, including packing, unpacking, moving, installation, and deinstallation (e.g. hanging or removing items from walls, placing them in display cases, etc.). This also includes inspecting the state of preservation of the museum artefacts and the conditions of their display or storage during the loan period, with all costs to be borne by the Applicant.
Upon initial approval of the loan request, the National Museum in Warsaw will provide detailed information regarding the required security, environmental, and installation conditions for each object lent.

 

Costs related to loan

The National Museum in Warsaw charges fees for preparing objects for lending, e.g. the costs of framing (frames, passe partout), conservation work (if the objects require conservation treatment), and digitization.

The borrower will also be asked to provide the following at their own expense:

• The transport and armed convoy within the territory of the Republic of Poland, if the value of the museum artefacts being transported so requires (Regulation of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of 2 September 2014 on the protection of Museum collections against fire, theft and other dangers threatening their destruction or loss, Journal of Laws 2014, item 1240),
• Packaging materials,
• Appropriately trained staff to pack museum artefacts and a museum courier,
• In the case of extremely valuable or sensitive objects, suitable materials to protect the objects during display / storage (e.g. display case with increased watertightness, recorder of climate parameters in the display case, anti-corrosive materials, silicate gel, etc.),
• Insurance for the objects against all risks during transport and for the duration of the loan period,
• Travel, hotel accommodation and allowances for the National Museum in Warsaw's courier,
• Costs of administrative fees related to obtaining export licences.

 

Contact details

We hope that the above information will be helpful to all institutions interested in cooperating with our Museum.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Temporary exhibitions – Inventory Department, Loans Team
e-mail: ; phone +48 22 621 10 31 ext. 365

Permanent exhibitions and deposits – Inventory Department
e-mail: ; phone +48 22 621 10 31 ext. 253

Research and conservation – Conservation of Collections
e-mail: ; phone +48 22 621 10 31 ext. 300

If you have any enquiries about securing the collections and transporting them, as well as about storage and display conditions, please contact Collections Conservation Department: , phone +48 22 621 10 31 ext. 300.