Ethiopia demands auctioneers return shield looted by British soldiers
Ethiopia’s government has demanded a firm of Newcastle-based auctioneers return a 19th-century shield plundered by British soldiers more than 150 years ago.
The engraved Abyssinian shield was among thousands of royal, religious, and military artefacts looted at the Battle of Magdala in 1868 when a British expeditionary force laid siege to the mountain fortress of Emperor Tewodros II in what was then Abyssinia.
The shield, made from hide and metal, is expected to fetch between £800 and £1,200 when it goes for sale, along with a host of other antique military paraphernalia, at Anderson and Garland on Thursday.
But the Ethiopian National Heritage National Restitution Committee, a subsidiary of the country’s tourism board, has decried the sale as “inappropriate and immoral” and demanded the shield be “restituted” so it can be put on display in Ethiopia.
Alula Pankhurst, a British scholar and spokesman for the group, said it was made aware of the sale by Andrew Heavens, a London-based journalist who has compiled a list of artefacts stolen from the battle.
Embossed on the centre of the shield are the words “Magdala April 13 1868”.
Mr Pankhurst, whose great-grandmother was the suffragette Emmeline Pankhurst, said: “On realising that the shield was looted the auctioneers could have advised the vendor of the reputational risk and informed them of recent cases where auctions of looted artefacts have been cancelled.
“Anderson and Garland have referred the matter to the vendor and together they should consider doing the right thing and restituting the shield and repatriating it to its rightful owners so that it can be displayed to the public in Ethiopia.”
Anderson and Garland did not respond for comment when approached by The Telegraph.
In 2021, Busby auctioneers in Dorset agreed to return a Coptic Bible and a set of horn beakers also stolen at the battle, following a backlash from the Ethiopian embassy when they were up for sale.
Some of the looted Magdala treasures are housed in museums, including the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum, while others are understood to be held in private collections across the UK.
Last October, Dr Jacopo Gnisci, an academic, personally bought a sacred tabot, a holy tablet looted at Magdala, being sold online in the UK so it could be returned to Ethiopia.
