When the Bayeux Tapestry goes on display at the British Museum, a historic 10-month loan that begins next Thursday, it will be seen in a whole new way. Due to a recent conservation report that revealed nearly 10,000 holes and over 24,000 stains, the tapestry’s fragility requires that it not be hung vertically. Instead, in a showcase specially built for the occasion, the 230-foot medieval masterpiece will be laid flat in one continuous length.
The tapestry’s surprising narrowness—it is only 20 inches high—allows a concentrated view of what is arguably the first great work of multi-media storytelling. And the top-down presentation is going to reveal a striking three-dimensional quality that’s easily lost when the tapestry is viewed from afar. According to Professor Michael Lewis, curator of the exhibition and an expert in antiquities, although the tapestry is technically a two-dimensional embroidery, its raised stitching, viewed from an angle, brings an immersive depth to the centuries-old battle scenes, making the still vivid embroidered figures seem almost to rise from the linen.