The lamp arrived, all knocked down into a “kit,” in a flat box. It went together quite well, though, once I applied Vaseline to all the screw threads on the pole sections. (Very important – makes all the difference in assuring they twist together straight and tight.) The lamp is quite handsome, but I gave it 4 stars because one of the lanterns is crooked on the mount, and it’s not possible to straighten it out. I will be contacting customer service to request another, straight one.