Understand
Rare medieval artworks go on display at Norwich Castle to tell the story of the Bayeux Tapestry
Overview
A new exhibition at Norwich Castle Museum featuring 21 rare medieval items on loan from the Wyvern Collection has opened to coincide with the arrival of the Bayeux Tapestry in England. The display includes period reliquaries, sculptures, and metalwork that help illustrate the material culture of the Norman Conquest and the historical events depicted in the tapestry.
Key points
- Twenty-one items have been loaned to Norwich Castle Museum by the Wyvern Collection in London.
- The exhibition includes a rare silver-gilt reliquary box similar to the one King Harold is shown swearing an oath on in the Bayeux Tapestry.
- The display is part of 'Bayeux around Britain', a series of events collaborating with the British Museum to mark the tapestry's arrival in England.
- Exhibits feature a 12th-century wooden sculpture of the Virgin Mary, a bronze candlestick of a kneeling man, an ivory hunting horn, and a modern 19-metre embroidery called the Norwich Friends' Tapestry.
- The exhibition forms part of preparations for the European Year of the Normans, marking 1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror.