The Treasury told the Financial Times that it had \u201creceived an estimated valuation of the Bayeux Tapestry which has been provisionally approved\u201d.<\/p>\n
Officials briefed on the project said they expected the final valuation to be \u201caround \u00a3800mn\u201d, a sum not disputed by the finance ministry, although it declined to comment on the price expected to be attached to the priceless artefact.<\/p>\n
That is more than twice the value of the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction: \u201cSalvator Mundi\u201d, the Leonardo da Vinci painting of Jesus commissioned by King Louis XII of France, which sold at Christie\u2019s in New York in 2017 for $450mn. <\/p>\n
The Treasury indemnity, which will have to be signed off by chancellor Rachel Reeves<\/a>, is part of a complex agreement between Britain and France to cover the loan of the tapestry, announced by President Emmanuel Macron during his state visit to London in July.<\/p>\n The transfer of the almost 1,000-year-old woollen embroidery on a linen backing from its home in Bayeux to the British Museum in central London has been criticised by some in the French art establishment, who fear it will be damaged<\/a> during its loan to Britain.<\/p>\n A six-page \u201cadministrative agreement\u201d<\/a> between the British and French culture ministries, recently released, sets out in detail how the work will be transported to London and how it must be protected when the British Museum exhibition opens in September.<\/p>\n The deal refers to \u201cthe temporary relocation of a fragile and degraded thousand-year-old textile\u201d and how it must be moved to London in a special crate, with provisions for it to be displayed behind a protective screen.<\/p>\n It says that the \u201cFrench state\u201d will oversee a \u201cdry run\u201d of the transfer to London, \u201cusing the crate containing a facsimile of the tapestry, equipped with a vibration analysis device\u201d. <\/p>\n The crate must be \u201ccompliant with isothermal preservation standards\u201d, the agreement states. People briefed on the project said they expected the tapestry to come to London in a truck, travelling via the Channel Tunnel.<\/p>\n The deal says the British Museum is responsible for the display and safekeeping of the tapestry during its stay in London until July 2027 and \u201cat its own expense, carry out the condition report upon the return of tapestry to Bayeux\u201d.<\/p>\n George Osborne, former Conservative chancellor and chair of the British Museum, has said he expects the Bayeux Tapestry to be \u201cthe blockbuster show of our generation\u201d, comparable in scale to the famous Tutankhamun exhibition of 1972.<\/p>\n The tapestry, which tells the story of the Norman invasion of England in 1066, is thought to have been made by nuns in England in the 11th century. Its iconic comic strip-style telling of the story is expected to spawn a merchandising bonanza for the British Museum.<\/p>\n![\"Workers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/https:\/\/d1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net\/production\/964039cd-c0c5-4257-bafe-6e315ea4a54a.jpg\")
Workers and volunteers prepare the Bayeux Tapestry for packing before its move to London \u00a9 Lou Benoist\/AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n
![\"Montage](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/https:\/\/images.ft.com\/v3\/image\/raw\/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fb89373.jpeg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n