France to loan Britain famed 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry

This undated image provided by the Mairie de Bayeux (Bayeux city hall), Normandy, France, shows visitors watching a section from the Bayeux tapestry. Photo / AP

French officials plan to loan the historic Bayeux Tapestry to Britain, allowing the 11th-century artwork depicting the conquest of England to leave France for the first time in centuries.

The mayor of the Normandy town of Bayeux, Patrick Gomont, said yesterday that the loan is about five years away because restoration work is required to ensure the fragile 70-metre cloth isn't damaged in transit. It currently resides in a museum in the town.

The Times of London newspaper reported that French President Emmanuel Macron will announce the loan of the artwork today when he meets British Prime Minister Theresa May for talks on Brexit, security and border issues.

This undated image provided by the Mairie de Bayeux shows a section from the Bayeux tapestry, a treasured work of medieval art and a valuable historical document. Photo / AP

The tapestry is a both a treasured work of medieval art and a valuable historical document that depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. It last left Normandy during World War II, when it was moved to Paris.

Conservative British lawmaker Tom Tugendhat, who heads Parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, said the loan was a "fantastic gesture of goodwill" by France.

Levi Roach, a medieval historian at the University of Exeter, said the tapestry was a symbol of the "close yet fraught" relationship between Britain in France. Its loan is especially resonant as Britain prepares to leave the European Union and strike up new relationships with its European neighbours.

"It is very significant that the Bayeux Tapestry is going to be coming to the United Kingdom and that people are going to be able to see this," May told lawmakers in the House of Commons.

May's spokesman would not comment on whether Britain planned to loan France anything in return.

The venue where the tapestry will be displayed in Britain hasn't been announced. But the Daily Telegraph understands the tapestry is destined to go on show at the British Museum in 2022, after curators have been in discussion with their French colleagues for some time.

"This would be a major loan, probably the most significant ever from France to the UK," museum director Hartwig Fischer said.

The tapestry depicts the invasion from the victorious French standpoint, but many historians believe it was stitched in England. The artefact, dating from 196BC, carries inscriptions in Greek and Egyptian that first enabled hieroglyphics to be deciphered.

- AP