The British Museum has banned visitors from photographing the Bayeux Tapestry, the 70-metre-long medieval artefact that recently returned to the UK for the first time in nearly 1,000 years. The restriction, announced less than two weeks after the tapestry went on display on September 10, comes after museum officials said that visitors stopping to take photos were delaying others from accessing the exhibition.
Photography ban introduced to ease crowding
Although curators had initially allowed ticketholders to take photographs, the ban was rolled out after people stopping to photograph the artwork were delaying others from being able to access the exhibition. In a statement, a British Museum spokesperson said: “There has been enormous interest in viewing the tapestry, and our priority is to ensure that all visitors have the best experience possible. In order to do this, we have made the decision to restrict photography while people are moving along the length of the tapestry.”
The tapestry, which chronicles the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings, is considered one of the wonders of the medieval world. It offers an insight into life in 11th century England both before and after the conquest, depicting castles, warfare, ships, clothing, food, and furniture. It was likely commissioned by a Norman patron and made by English embroiderers, using manuscript drawings from Canterbury.
Record ticket sales and unprecedented demand
Before it even went on display, the British Museum said demand to see the “once-in-a-generation exhibition has already been unprecedented.” When general admission tickets went on sale in July, the museum recorded the single biggest day of ticket sales in its history, generating more than £2.4 million in sales in the first 24 hours. Tickets to the exhibition are sold out until the next release on October 21.
Michael Lewis, one of the four curators of the exhibition, called the Bayeux Tapestry a “really precious work of art.” He previously told the Press Association: “1066 is, of course, one of the most important events in English history, and the tapestry is the ultimate reflection of that in terms of a visual narrative. Some people see it as akin to a graphic novel or a cartoon or something like that, it’s immediately recognisable. When they look at it, they can get it straight away. It’s not like a dusty history book where it’s quite hard to decipher. There’s action going on, and even if you don’t understand all of the story, you enjoy it. So I think that’s what makes the Bayeux Tapestry such an important thing. And of course, the fact that the French state has allowed it to come to the UK and be displayed at the British Museum is an enormous act of diplomacy. So it’s a fantastic thing to have happened, and I’m just so happy that it’s happened in my lifetime.”
Exhibition runs until 2027
Lewis added that he thought people would be “talking about this for generations and generations, that they were there in London to see the Bayeux Tapestry when it came to this country.” The Bayeux Tapestry is at the British Museum until July 11 2027. It has been on display at the Bayeux Tapestry Museum in Bayeux in Normandy since 1983 and will return there when the museum reopens after renovation.
