Nine Centuries Later, the Bayeux Tapestry Recrosses the Channel

A long history of surviving less-than-ideal conditions has contributed to current concerns about risking any further damage to the delicate threads. It is something of a miracle that the tapestry was not severely harmed or destroyed in the course of being used as a wagon cover during the French Revolution, transported to Paris multiple times under Napoleon, and concealed from the Nazis throughout World War II. One conservator has claimed that two threads sustained breaks of a few millimeters during the journey, but among the millions of other threads that are still intact, this discovery reads less like a catastrophe than as a reminder of how resilient the well-crafted treasure remains. The British Museum has limited its exposure to light for the run of the show and laid it flat in a single vitrine.

Regardless, staunch French heritage advocates have continued to call the loan a “crime against heritage” despite a reverential and enthusiastic reception in London. The first batch of tickets sold out within minutes and generated $3.4 million in sales. Roughly 800,000 to one million visitors are expected over the next 10 months, even with complaints of the £33 ($44) tickets being inaccessible for some. King Charles III and French President Emmanuel Macron both enjoyed early viewings of the show.

The museum nonetheless continues to struggle with its controversial associations. Pro-Palestinian activists protested on site after reports surfaced that hedge fund billionaire and exhibition backer Igor Tulchinsky funded a community center in an illegal Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank. Demonstrators also renewed criticism of the museum’s longstanding partnership with the oil giant BP.

In return for the loan, French museums will display England’s Sutton Hoo collection of seventh-century helmets, shields, and assorted metalwork unearthed from an Anglo-Saxon ship burial. The tapestry is due back at the renovated Bayeux Museum by July 2027 in time for the 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror's birth. For a museum trying to raise $1.35 billion for renovations, the Bayeux Tapestry exhibit and its plethora of gift shop merchandise is also good business. However, its true value may be the proof that even the most culturally significant objects to the history of two countries can occasionally be shared rather than fought over.