The Bayeux Tapestry, now on display in a landmark exhibition at the British Museum, records the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England, concluding with the death of King Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings.
While it illustrates the struggle for the English throne, it stops short of portraying William's triumphant coronation in the Abbey, either because the final section has been lost or because it was never completed. This new work, commissioned by the Normandy Regional Council as part of Millenium 2027 – the European Year of the Normans, sets out to remedy that.
Responding to the events of ten centuries ago
Delprat's tapestry is a large-scale piece measuring 25m2 which combines colours and motifs from the original work with heraldic devices and symbols of power and victory, creating a contemporary response to the events of ten centuries ago.
It is being woven at the Atelier Guillot in Aubusson, a town in the Creuse region of central France whose tapestry-making is so renowned that in 2009 it was inscribed in UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
The work is being carried out by three members of the highly skilled Guillot family – husband and wife team Patrick and Marie and their son Luc – who as well as weaving the tapestry have also guided the selection of up to 300 different coloured wool and silk threads to create a rich mixture of patterns and textures. Following the Abbey exhibition, Delprat's tapestry will return to France, to begin a journey across Normandy, to be finally shown at Falaise Castle in Normandy – William's birthplace.
