The Prince and the Plunder

A book on how Britain took one boy and piles of treasures from Ethiopia

Author: Andrew Heavens

Curved scissors

Published January 13, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Curved scissors taken by the British Museum’s expert on the expedition, Richard Rivington Holmes

Where: The British Museum, Great Russell St, Bloomsbury, London WC1B 3DG

Provenance: Maqdala referenced at length in the museum’s acquisition notes.

The catalogue entry reads: “Scissors with curved blades, made of iron.”

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1001.31
Height: 10.80 cm
Width: 5.70 cm
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Miscellaneous | Possible gifts | The Plunder
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Queen Terunesh’s necklace

Published January 05, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Silver necklace of two bands of 8 thin silver chains, said to belong to Queen Terunesh, Alemayehu’s mother

Where: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The Accessions Register reads: ‘Neck ornament. Silver plaques with cord ornament connected by eight minute chains, belonging formerly to the Queen of Abyssinia. Abyssinian. Given by the Secretary of State for India. April 28th 1869’.

See ‘Set of Articles of Deceased Queen of Abyssinia’ and related correspondence in British Library collections at IOR R/20/AIA/503.

Displayed in “V and A Africa: Exploring Hidden Histories”
15th November 2012- 3rd February 2013

Museum number:  405-1869

Posted In Adornments & jewelry | Royal regalia | Said to belong to the queen | The Plunder
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Silver and gilt bells

Published January 05, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A bunch of 31 silver and gilt bells strung onto a wire, said to have belonged to Ethiopia’s Queen Terunesh

Where: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The catalogue entry says the bells were “formerly in the possession of Queen Woyzaro Terunesh, second wife of the Ethiopian emperor Tewodros II (Theodore) and mother of the prince Alamayou … Given by the Secretary of State for India. April 28th 1869.”

See ‘Set of Articles of Deceased Queen of Abyssinia’ and related correspondence in British Library collections at IOR R/20/AIA/503.

Museum number:
412-1869

Posted In Adornments & jewelry | Royal regalia | Said to belong to the queen | The Plunder
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Silver amulet with two copper rings

Published January 05, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A cylindrical silver amulet and two copper rings, said to have belonged to Ethiopia’s Queen Terunesh

Where: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The catalogue entry reads: “Amulet. Silver, cylindric, with three suspensory rings; attached are two rings of copper; belonging formerly to the Queen of Abyssinia. Abyssinian. Given by the Secretary of State for India. April 28th 1869.”

See ‘Set of Articles of Deceased Queen of Abyssinia’ and related correspondence in British Library collections at IOR R/20/AIA/503.

Museum number:
411-1869

Posted In Adornments & jewelry | Royal regalia | Said to belong to the queen | The Plunder
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Queen Terunesh’s dress

Published January 05, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A dress, made of cotton embroidered with silk, said to have belonged to Ethiopia’s Queen Terunesh

Where: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The catalogue entry, which has more images. says “This Ethiopian kamis (dress) belonged to Queen Terunesh, or Empress Tiruwork Wube, the second wife of Emperor Tewodros II and the mother of Prince Alemayehu. The Queen died about a month after the 1868 siege of Maqdala (Magdala), while being escorted by the British army to her home province. Her possessions were then sent to England, to the Secretary of State for India, who gave this garment to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1869. Items looted during the siege were also given to the Museum.”

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Crill, Rosemary, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson. Dress in Detail from Around the World. London: V&A Publications, 2002. 224 p., ill. ISBN 09781851773787. p. 36.

Museum number:
400-1869

Posted In Dresses & shawls | Royal regalia | Said to belong to the queen
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Queen’s silver necklace

Published January 05, 2018 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A silver, triple chain necklace, said to have belonged to Ethiopia’s Queen Terunesh

Where: The Victoria & Albert Museum, Cromwell Rd, Knightsbridge, London SW7 2RL

©Victoria & Albert Museum, London

The catalogue entry says: “Neck ornament. Silver, triple small chain attached to an openwork clasp with six conical pendants; belonging formerly to the Queen of Abyssinia. Abyssinian. Given by the Secretary of State for India. April 28th 1869.”

Museum number:
406-1869

See ‘Set of Articles of Deceased Queen of Abyssinia’ and related correspondence in British Library collections at IOR R/20/AIA/503.

Posted In Adornments & jewelry | Royal regalia | Said to belong to the queen | The Plunder
Tagged