Life's rich tapestry: a 950-year-old cloth that maintains its mystique

Pre-exhibition promotion clearly works. The British Museum has had its biggest-ever day of ticket sales ahead of the Bayeux Tapestry being shown in London for the first time.

The tapestry, a 70-meter-long linen and wool embroidery that's almost a thousand years old, will be on show from 10 September until 11 July next year. The online queue earlier this month reached a peak of 80,000 and generated more than £2.5 million ($3.3m) in ticket sales.

Despite a single adult ticket costing three times more in London compared to the temporarily closed Bayeux Tapestry Museum in northern France, it could be one of the most popular exhibitions ever held in the British Museum.

Yet, despite the excitement in Britain, there are still misgivings in France.

"We asked the work not to be moved to England because it's very dangerous," complained Didier Rykner, an art journalist based in Paris and Chief Editor of the online La Tribune De L'Art.

A petition signed by 78,000 opposed loaning the tapestry, labelling it a cultural crime to transport such an old and fragile historical artifact to the UK.

But, according to Rykner, "the Chief of State Emmanuel Macron doesn't care about petitions." Rykner insisted that the condition of the tapestry could deteriorate by transporting it to London.   

He declared that experts "do not know how the tapestry will be with the vibrations and the manipulations. They are doing what they can to lower the vibrations, but they don't know the point where vibrations are not dangerous. There are risks and they don't know what the risk is exactly."

At Bayeux itself, in Normandy, the old tapestry museum is being renovated. When the tapestry returns, it will be housed in a brand new exhibition hall and a revamped building. 

Its director Dr Martin Bostal said the tapestry's preservation was of utmost importance. "We need to use new conservation ways to preserve it for future generations and this is what the new museum will respond to," he told CGTN. 

The tapestry was commissioned after the Franco-Norman army of Duke William conquered England in 1066. It's thought to have been embroidered in England, to describe the campaign and the Norman victory at the Battle of Hastings.

After completion it was taken across the English Channel and has been on display at various places over the centuries. French conservation surveys describe one of the country's biggest historical treasures as having, over time, accumulated deterioration that includes more than 24,000 stains, around 9,000 holes and roughly 30 tears. 

Not bad going for an 11th century, 950-year-old linen and wool embroidery. 

Those medieval stitches are still being practised and perfected in Normandy. Professional embroiderer Nathalie Marin runs a business called Bayeux Broderie near the town's cathedral. 

She told CGTN: "This tapestry is truly world-renowned, particularly since it was recognised by UNESCO. It is unique in the world, so it is something that is known across the globe and attracts large numbers of visitors."

Marin sells embroidery kits to tourists from all over the world as well as her own work where she recreates scenes from the ancient tapestry.

She explained: "The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the earliest examples of embroidery, so the techniques used must have been simple and quick, as the tapestry is large and would have had to be completed relatively quickly. So this is a form of embroidery that would have been quick and easy to learn."

Speaking as she stitched a new linen and wool embroidery, Marin added: "We have people who want to buy ready-made embroidery because they don't have the time, or feel they lack the skills, or simply don't feel like doing the embroidery themselves. People who are more drawn to craftwork and want to do it themselves."

Loïc Jamin, deputy mayor in Bayeux, disagrees with the notion that the fragility of the tapestry should see it stored for safety in France amid fears that it could be damaged in its year-long stay in Britain.

According to Lamin: "It's true that, at the start, people had a lot of concerns. There were plenty of questions: 'Will the tapestry be coming back?' But elected representatives and those working with the museum, reassured people and answered their questions. No, there's no risk." 

In Paris, art journalist Didier Rykner disagreed. "It can be a small problem and it could be a huge problem. It could be torn in two, you don't know. I hope there will be no problem but I'm pretty sure there will be."

As it's owned by the French State, what the President decrees is what officials and civil servants act upon. The UK government is paying for insurance for transporting and exhibiting the tapestry. Some reports in the media suggest the costs are over £800 million – more than a billion US dollars.

The next batch of tickets for the London exhibition will be sold in January, and another later in the spring. They're also expected to sell out fast.

If you can't obtain tickets, don't despair. There is a complete 19th century replica of the Bayeux Tapestry in the Reading Museum, 60 kilometers from central London.