Latest news with #NicholasCullinan
The Sun
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Bayeux Tapestry RETURNS to Britain after 900 years as iconic 230ft masterpiece depicting 1066 conquest loaned by France
THE Bayeux tapestry is set to return England for the first time in 900 years following a fresh deal with France. The treasured masterpiece that depicts the Norman Conquest will be sent to the British Museum next year on loan from France. 3 3 Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Emmanuel Macron are expected to announce the deal amid the French leader's state visit to Britain. It will see the 230ft tapestry temporarily exchanged for artefacts from the Sutton Hoo ship burial. The Bayeux tapestry depicts the events of the Norman Conquest, which would see William The Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson following the Battle of Hastings in 1066. It is widely believed to have been made in Kent in the 11th century. The tapestry draws hundreds of thousands of visitors a year where it is currently displayed in France. Director of the British Museum, Nicholas Cullinan, said: "The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and unique cultural artefacts in the world, which illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and has fascinated people across geographies and generations. "It is hard to overstate the significance of this extraordinary opportunity of displaying it at the British Museum and we are profoundly grateful to everyone involved. "This will be the first time the Bayeux Tapestry has been in the UK since it was made, almost 1,000-years-ago. "We are also delighted to send the Lewis Chessmen, and some of our treasures from Sutton Hoo - the greatest archaeological discovery in Britain - to France in return. "This is exactly the kind of international partnership that I want us to champion and take part in, sharing the best of our collection as widely as possible, and in return displaying global treasures never seen here before." Migrant camps brace for impact as UK-France deal fuels crossings The Sutton Hoo artefacts were discovered on a seventh century Anglo-Saxon ship in the 1930s. The Bayeux tapestry will be displayed at the British Museum between September 2026 and July 2027. This exchange will coincide with the 1,000th anniversary of William the Conqueror's birth in 2027. Culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: "The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most iconic pieces of art ever produced in the UK and I am delighted that we will be able to welcome it here in 2026. "This loan is a symbol of our shared history with our friends in France, a relationship built over centuries and one that continues to endure. "The British Museum is one of the world's most visited museums and is a fitting place to host this most treasured piece of our nation's history." Macron had previously agreed to loan the piece back to Britain in 2018 when Theresa May was PM, but it never materialised.
Irish Times
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Bayeux Tapestry to return to UK for first time in more than 900 years
The Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the 1066 Norman invasion and Battle Of Hastings, is to return to England for the first time in more than 900 years. The tapestry will arrive in the UK at the British Museum next year on loan from France . In return, the British Museum will loan the Sutton Hoo collection, the Lewis chessmen and other items to France. The 70-metre-long work, which is more than 900 years old, depicts the battle which saw William The Conqueror take the English throne from Harold Godwinson and become the first Norman king of England. READ MORE It is widely accepted to have been made in England during the 11th century and was likely to have been commissioned by Bishop Odo Of Bayeux. It has been on display in various locations across France during its history, including most recently at the Bayeux Museum in Normandy. French president Emmanuel Macron said the exchanges of 'extraordinary national treasures' would be officially announced at the British Museum on Wednesday. 'The times of William the Conqueror are over – happily,' he said in an address to UK parliamentarians. 'I think these mutual loans of these extraordinary national treasures will involve fascinating human exchanges, which will certainly be positive for our future in terms of culture,' Mr Macron said. Director of the British Museum Nicholas Cullinan said: 'The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the most important and unique cultural artefacts in the world, which illustrates the deep ties between Britain and France and has fascinated people across geographies and generations. 'It is hard to overstate the significance of this extraordinary opportunity of displaying it at the British Museum and we are profoundly grateful to everyone involved. 'This will be the first time the Bayeux Tapestry has been in the UK since it was made, almost 1,000 years ago.' The Sutton Hoo treasures, discovered as part of a seventh century Anglo-Saxon ship burial in Suffolk in 1939, provide insight into England during the period before the Norman Conquest. The Lewis chessmen are a collection of medieval chess pieces, mostly carved from walrus ivory, discovered on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland in 1831. Museums in Normandy will host the Sutton Hoo treasures while they are in France. Further details of the exhibition will be announced by the British Museum in due course, with the loan set to form part of a season of culture in 2027 celebrating the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of William The Conqueror, and the Grand Depart of the 2027 Tour de France from the UK. The tapestry will be displayed in the Sainsbury Exhibitions Gallery of the British Museum between September 2026 and July 2027. – PA
Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Inside the British Museum: stolen treasures and a £1bn revamp
Nicholas Cullinan is looking out of the window of his office counting the visitors streaming into the British Museum. 'There were 6.5 million last year from all over the world. It's humbling, especially when they are queuing in the rain,' he says. 'I want to run out with an umbrella.' With more than 3,500 rooms, 8 million artefacts and 1,000 employees, the British Museum is one of the biggest showcases in the world, but by last year the 271-year-old institution had also become a 'basket case', according to the Sunday Times art critic Waldemar Januszczak. There were buckets under leaking roofs, more than 2,000 objects had been stolen by a rogue curator and flogged on eBay without anyone noticing, the carpets were fraying, the
