If you happen to be in Nordjylland, Denmark then you can also see the recreation:
https://www.boerglumkloster.dk/hvad-kan-jeg-se/bayeux-tapete...
Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
21–30 of 47 posts
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#22It’s funny to consider the parallels between the tapestry’s return and the campaigns for repatriation of the British Museum’s many stolen artefacts
Temporary loans in exchange for other items on temporary loan (which is what this is), is legally the only way the British Museum can let material leave their collections. I realise that there is a lot of meme-age worthy material that the British Museum is full of stolen property, but it's worth remembering that most of the items were donated at a time when legal provenance was virtually impossible to establish (part…
People did complain at the time and denied that Elgin had the right to take them in the first place, which is why parliament investigated the matter at the time. While the controversy has intensified in the last few decades, it's been controversial pretty much since day one. It's not a "meme-age" thing.
Whether Elgin did or did not have permission from the occupying Ottoman forces is of secondary importance. Many people at the time already considered the Greeks to be occupied by the Ottomans, which is one reason why all of this was controversial at the time (Greeks were not viewed with the same racism as the occupied people in Africa or Asia – quite the opposite since many people were huge Greek fanboys).
If some official had legally approved removing huge chunks of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1800 then the British would be up in arms about it today, and rightfully so. Nazis had "legal" permission to remove a lot of art works through occupied Europe. No one today would claim that the painting of the Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies would belong to the inheritors of Herr Flick, no matter how they were acquired in the first place. There are many examples of things done "legally" where today we no longer acknowledge the legality of it.
This is also why the British government is often so disproportionally testy about the entire matter, and why that law was passed in the first place. They know that is is clearly and obviously the right thing to return one of the most prominent cultural and historical artifacts to Greece, removed by someone for his private garden, with dubious permission to do so, and even if it did exist it was given by someone who had no right to give it in the first place. They know they're wrong and don't want to talk about it.
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#23It’s funny to consider the parallels between the tapestry’s return and the campaigns for repatriation of the British Museum’s many stolen artefacts
Temporary loans in exchange for other items on temporary loan (which is what this is), is legally the only way the British Museum can let material leave their collections. I realise that there is a lot of meme-age worthy material that the British Museum is full of stolen property, but it's worth remembering that most of the items were donated at a time when legal provenance was virtually impossible to establish (part…
Surely there's no legal reason why the British Museum couldn't, if they wanted to, "loan" things out for a pittance in return, and indefinitely?
The law may prevent them from saying "we are giving these back to Greece", but if they felt it the moral thing to do why not just send it to Greece while maintaining that they officially claim ownership of the items which are out on loan?
(As a Brit, this is what I want to see happen. Even as a better option than actually changing the law - politicians should be focussed on more important matters if the museum can fix the issue this easily.)
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#24It’s funny to consider the parallels between the tapestry’s return and the campaigns for repatriation of the British Museum’s many stolen artefacts
Temporary loans in exchange for other items on temporary loan (which is what this is), is legally the only way the British Museum can let material leave their collections. I realise that there is a lot of meme-age worthy material that the British Museum is full of stolen property, but it's worth remembering that most of the items were donated at a time when legal provenance was virtually impossible to establish (part…
I think a loan of the Parthenon Sculptures within the next few years is more likely than you think.
Both Kier Starmer and George Osborne are keen for a deal, and the majority of the British public are in favour of the sculpture’s return.
It would be a temporary loan on paper, but everyone involved understands that they would never return to the UK.
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Does HN auto re-write headlines using an LLM or something?
No, a regular expression. Generative language models usually produce different kinds of error, and rarely fade into the background in the same way the automatic headline rewriting tool does (when it isn't rendering the titles incomprehensible, at least).
> "a regular expression"
A small language model
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#26At least I will be able to visit the exhibition and count them myself: https://allthatsinteresting.com/bayeux-tapestry-penises
The tapestry was made by nuns. I'm not sure what to make of it. May be it was more common occurrence so to speak - because men were basically wearing dresses too, and short ones at that, and even codpieces would appear only centuries later.
No fun in Victorian times though:
"Interestingly, many of the penises depicted in the original tapestry were not transferred over to the Victorian recreation, as the Leek Embroidery Society, which made the replica, was given censored etchings, engravings, and photos to work from."
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#27> Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. In 950 Years Hilarious. I was hoping the title was actually accurate.
I was hoping someone had discovered a 950 year old… um… broadsheet? that had been tacked to the… um… alba libellorum? in the Butter Market? And they guessed there would be a UK!
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, a regular expression. Generative language models usually produce different kinds of error, and rarely fade into the background in the same way the automatic headline rewriting tool does (when it isn't rendering the titles incomprehensible, at least).
> "a regular expression" A small language model
It compresses exceptionally well, and has highly-optimised CPU implementations.
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#29It seems anyone involved in this in France are opposed to this except Macron. Although he has authority over them I'm not confident it will be moved there in the end.
Why would people be opposed to this? France loans some world-class exhibits to the UK, and the UK loans some world-class exhibits to France. Seems like a win-win? Who loses anything with this?
All experts in restoration/conservation have argued that the tapestry is too old and fragile to be moved.
Macron has pushed for it (to announce as part of his state visit to the UK), the director of the Bayeux Museum has accepted (he is a civil servant, and more subject to politics).
Experts agree that any move is likely to worsen tears in the cloth (a superposition of linen): https://www.latribunedelart.com/bayeux-tapestry-let-s-listen...
The museum where it is exposed is supposed to go through renovation, and experts are worried even to move the tapestry within the same museum just for renovation purposes... one can understand their fears when it's about packing and transporting to the other side of the channel (notwithstanding the amazing level of the British Museum conservation team, among the best in the world).
Re: Bayeux Tapestry Will Return to the U.K. for the First Time in 950 Years
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
Temporary loans in exchange for other items on temporary loan (which is what this is), is legally the only way the British Museum can let material leave their collections. I realise that there is a lot of meme-age worthy material that the British Museum is full of stolen property, but it's worth remembering that most of the items were donated at a time when legal provenance was virtually impossible to establish (part…
Surely there's no legal reason why the British Museum couldn't, if they wanted to, "loan" things out for a pittance in return, and indefinitely? The law may prevent them from saying "we are giving these back to Greece", but if they felt it the moral thing to do why not just send it to Greece while maintaining that they officially claim ownership of the items which are out on loan? (As a Brit, this is what I want to s…
No, they can't. The legislation[0], does allow them to lend things out, but:
The Trustees of the British Museum may lend for public exhibition (whether in the United Kingdom or elsewhere) any object comprised in the collections of the Museum:
Provided that in deciding whether or not to lend any such object, and in determining the time for which, and the conditions subject to which, any such object is to be lent, the Trustees shall have regard to the interests of students and other persons visiting the Museum, to the physical condition and degree of rarity of the object in question, and to any risks to which it is likely to be exposed.
Politics is focused on more important matters, but the law is the law. You're confusing party politics with legislation because the two are intertwined within the British constitution, but the Museum would be breaking the law and the entire directorate would be in a huge, huge amount of trouble if they just decided to ship the marbles off "on loan" any time soon without explicit changes in legislation.