Packed VERY securely and beautiful once its done.   This complex assembly taok two amateurs to assemble,  one to stabilize the pieces while the other put in the screws.  Many parts and 4-5 hours for us to complete.  We fared pretty well, considering  one has Parkinsons and the other arthritic hands!!!  Actually, my hubby had to step in to secure all the screws when our infirmed body parts gave out.