The United Kingdom loaned a copy of Magna Carta to the U.S. Capitol for the 1976 United States Bicentennial.
The loan was arranged as a goodwill gift for the anniversary celebrations. One of the four surviving original exemplifications of the 1215 charter was displayed in the Capitol from June 3, 1976, until June 13, 1977.
The display included an elaborate case designed by British artist Louis Osman. The case used materials including gold, stainless steel, rubies, pearls, sapphires, diamonds, and white enamel, and it stood on a base made from pegmatite and Yorkshire sandstone.
The Magna Carta is often associated with the origins of constitutional government, but it was not an American founding document. Its 1976 appearance in Washington was a symbolic connection between British constitutional history and the American anniversary.