The Looted.

Photo by Alula Pankhurst taken at The Atheneum Club Sept 9th

“The Single most significant heritage restitution in Ethiopia’s history”. 

An historical event took place at The Atheneum Club in London on September 8th organised by Mr Tahir Shah, CEO of The Scheherazade Foundation. My friend Dr Alula Pankhurst and I were there. He is a member of Ethiopia’s National Heritage Restitution Committee said the , “treasure trove of returned looted artefacts is the single most significant heritage restitution in Ethiopia’s history and is almost equivalent in number to all the private collection returns since the battle of Maqdala in 1868. It is my hope and determination that this will pave the way for further restitution initiatives; especially at a time when retaining artefacts, notably human remains such as those of Prince Alemayehu in Windsor Chapel or sacred objects such as a the holy Tabot Arks of the Covenant in the British Museum is becoming increasingly anachronistic, irrelevant and embarrassing.” I was there.

UK urged to return sacred Tabots hidden away for 150 years :

Yesterday. (October 11th) Mark Brown, arts correspondent at The Guardian Newspaper reported

“Now hopes have been raised that Ethiopian tabots, looted by the British after the battle of Maqdala in 1868, could finally be returned home following a new legal opinion and an appeal backed by Stephen Fry, the author Lemn Sissay and the former archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.

The wood and stone tabots are altar tablets, considered by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as the dwelling place of God on Earth and the representation of the Ark of the Covenant. They have, everyone agrees, huge spiritual and religious value for the people of Ethiopia.“hidden religious treasures that have been in the British Museum’s stores for more than 150 years, never on public display – with members of the public strictly forbidden from seeing them…” Do read this story.”

A lock of hair from a prince: 

I received an email out of the blue from a stranger with a new discovery. While she was searching through her old family records she found a lock of hair from Prince Alemayehu. He was brought to England from Ethiopia with the looted treasures of Maqdala and is presently buried at St Georges Chapel in Windsor Castle. The lock of hair is dated April 23rd 1870 . It was his 9th birthday

October is Black History Month in England. The present debate about whether or not statues should remain if they venerate slave traders is a challenging one. Ethiopia was never a British Colony. So the legend goes that when an attempt was made to ‘negotiate’ power away from King Menelik he said ‘wipe your feet when you leave. You shall not take a grain of Ethiopian soil’.