Q: Whose fault is it when a gallery sends back an item and it arrives damaged? I recently gave a ceramic piece to a gallery that was going to start exhibiting my work. When they sent it back, the lid was broken! It arrived loosely packed in a too-big box (not the original packaging I shipped it in). Now I have to spend the time, cost and materials to fix it. Of course, when I called the gallery, they blamed the shipping company. And when I contacted the shipping company, they blamed the gallery. Who really should pay for the damages?