Ethiopian Shield Pillaged by British to Be Repatriated
To receive Morning Links in your inbox every weekday, sign up for our Breakfast with ARTnews newsletter. The Headlines MAQDALA SHIELD REPATRIATION. A 19th-century Maqdala shield pillaged in Ethiopia during the 1868 Battle of Maqdala will be repatriated in November, and displayed at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, reports The Art Newspaper. The Ethiopian government identified the shield as a British army-looted treasure after seeing it come up in an auction, and requested it be restituted from the UK. After a short loan for an exhibit at Ohio’s Toledo Museum of Art ending this month, that is precisely what will happen. The shield “is a symbol of Ethiopia’s history and resilience,” said Ermias Sahle Selassi, grandson of Emperor Haile Selassie and founder of the Royal Ethiopian Trust that negotiated the restitution. During the same 1868 battle, the British army helped themselves to other Ethiopian treasures which remain in UK museums, including ceremonial objects considered holy and weapons, though some have been returned in recent years. Related Articles LEBANON HERITAGE SITES AT RISK. Lebanon’s culture minister has warned that …