Ethiopian treasures brought to Britain by troops in the 19th century may now be returned to Addis Ababa for a show, according to Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Hunt has described his discussions with the Ethiopian ambassador, Hailemichael Aberra Afework, and his team as “productive”. He added that the V&A was still “working towards” a display of the items in Addis Ababa, in spite of the Ethiopian government’s official objection to the proposed setting up of a long-term loan. It argued that this arrangement would serve to acknowledge British rights of ownership.
The controversy surrounding the objects, which include a chalice, a wedding dress and a selection of jewellery, intensified last year when they were shown as part of a V&A exhibition organised in consultation with the Ethiopian embassy in London and designed to tell the troubled story behind the items as well as to mark the 150th anniversary of the battle of Maqdala. This British military expedition, led by General Robert Napier, set out to release British hostages held by Emperor Tewodros II in what is now Ethiopia. When the emperor’s fortress was destroyed, a large number of religious objects were taken and several eventually made their way to the V&A, via the British treasury.
Hunt makes his comments in a piece for the Observer about the wider debate in the museum sector in response to growing calls for the restitution of “stolen” cultural objects.
“For a museum like the V&A, to decolonise is to decontextualise,” Hunt writes. “ A more nuanced understanding of empire is needed than the politically driven pathways of good or bad.”
