You've bought something wonderfully strange and very fragile. Here's how to get it home

Antiques fairs and auctions are full of odd, beautiful pieces: Victorian glass domes, cased ship models, old shop and museum display cases, anatomical models. They look great in a hallway or a bar, but they're awkward to move. They have big panes of glass, delicate parts inside and shapes that don't fit in a car boot. Here's a calm way to get yours home.

1. Measure it, and ask about the glass

Get the height, width and depth, and ask the seller whether the glass is original, whether it lifts off or slides out, and roughly how heavy the piece is. Old glass is thinner than you'd expect.

2. Decide what travels separately

If the seller agrees, lift glass domes off their bases and pack them on their own. Remove shelves and loose parts from display cases. Anything small and precious is often safest carried by you.

3. Protect the glass

Tape a big X across large panes so that if one cracks it holds together. Wrap the piece in blankets, then mark "fragile glass" and "this way up" on every side.

4. Wedge, don't wobble

Fill gaps inside cases and around delicate parts with soft packing so nothing can shift. Movement is what breaks things, not the journey itself.

5. Keep the paperwork with you

If the seller gave you any paperwork or provenance with the sale, keep it in your bag, not in the van.

6. Describe the job clearly

What it is, its size and rough weight, whether it has glass and must stay upright, where it's collected from and going to, steps and parking at both ends, and when the seller needs it gone.

7. Get quotes and choose

You can ring round, or post the job once and let quotes come to you. Pink Pumpkin Logistics, the site I run, lets you post it for free at pinkpumpkinlogistics.co.uk. Drivers send quotes and you pick the one you're happy with, with no obligation.

8. Find it a spot it deserves

Once it's home, keep it out of direct sunlight and away from busy doorways, then enjoy watching your visitors do a double take.

Disclosure: I run Pink Pumpkin Logistics, the site mentioned above.