Tower of London poppies hailed worldwide, says museum boss

The spectacular sea of ceramic poppies at the Tower of London is in global demand, according to a museum boss.

More than five million visitors saw the poppies, commemorating the First World War, when they were at the London landmark.

Officially called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, the sculpture was created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins and designer Tom Piper.

Now requests have come in from New Zealand and Australia to have the installation shipped over for exhibitions, the director general of the Imperial War Museums (IWM), Diane Lees, has said.

She said the piece will be on display at the IWM until the end of the official war commemoration period, and then it will enter the museum's collections.

"But we're already getting loan requests. At the moment there are requests in from New Zealand, possibly Australia, to take some or all of the poppies on tour," she told the Press Association.

She added: "I'm not quite sure they realise how big they are."

Ms Lees said they are the one thing that people will remember for "years and years and years as symbolic of the nation's engagement with the First World War centenary".

She added: "So it's such a fabulous asset, and of course because it was a global war then there is global demand for any country that's adopted the poppy to be a part of it."

Ms Lees said a new version of it could be created that would make touring less difficult, and said she hoped lots of people will continue to see it when the centenary is over. Any potential tours overseas would not take place until 2019, she added.

Meanwhile, the poppy sculpture Weeping Window from the installation is already making its way to other parts of the UK.

It was announced on Wednesday that it will go on display in Orkney from April 22 to June 12 to commemorate 100 years since the Battle of Jutland as part of the 14-18 NOW programme of events.

This visit is part of an expanded UK-wide tour, and the sculptures - Wave and Weeping Window - will also be presented in Lincoln Castle, Caernarfon Castle and the Black Watch Museum, Perth.

Artist Cummins said he never thought his work would become such a phenomenon.

Asked if it inspires his current and future creations, he told the Press Association: "I'm not going to ever try and compete with it. I'm trying something different all the time."

He said he cannot let things get "stagnant", adding that this is what is good about the UK tour as it is responded to differently each place it goes.

Mr Cummins said the piece of art belongs to everyone and is all about the stories behind it.