Talks to return Ethiopian treasures

V&A may return stolen Ethiopian relics - 19th October 2020

London's Victoria & Albert Museum is in close discussions with the Ethiopian state over the repatriation of hundreds of historical artefacts which were looted by the British during the Battle of Maqdala in 1868.

Among the V&A's collection are priceless relics such as a golden headpiece and a royal bridal gown. In 2007, Ethiopia lodged a formal request for restitution for countless historical objects and manuscripts held in a variety of British institutions, but it was dismissed by the authorities.

The talks come out of the V&A's wider initiative to "decolonise" the history of the museum, as deputy director Tim Reeve explains. “There’s no dispute about whether or not they were borrowed; they were looted and that’s a story we have tried to tell very openly and very honestly at the V&A.”

The dialogue between the museum and the Ethiopian embassy is concentrated on how to reunite Ethiopia with its artefacts when institutions such as the V&A are prohibited from returning items in perpetuity. One suggestion involves loaning the artefacts on a long-term basis, a proposition which has been met with approval from the Ethiopian government and campaigners.

A century and a half ago, the town of Maqdala, in what was then Abyssinia, was ransacked by the British Army after a military expedition to secure the release of British hostages taken by Emperor Tewodros II. The British victory culminated in the emperor’s suicide, the destruction of his fortress and the loss of hundreds of artefacts now located in a variety of British institutions across the country.