The Prince and the Plunder

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

Category: Miscellaneous

Bracelet with ‘eyes’

Published June 18, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Iron bracelet with with groups of ‘eyes’ suspended from terminals

Where: The National Museums of Scotland

Sources:

The museums’ online catalogue entry has no pictures

National Museums of Scotland spreadsheet
Accession number: 1893.211
Description: Iron penannular bracelet with groups of ‘eyes’ suspended from terminals, and surface hatched with lines: Eastern Africa, Ethiopia, obtained at Magdala, 1868
Acquisition source: Mackenzie, William Sir K. C.B., C.S.I., 1811 – 1893

Posted In Clothes & ornaments | Miscellaneous | The Plunder
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Borrett’s ring

Published June 18, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A ring taken off a dead Ethiopian soldier’s finger after the Battle of Aroge, April 10 1868

Where: King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum, Market Square, Lancaster, LA1 1HT

The museum entry reads: Ring taken from a dead Abyssinian soldier by Lieutenant Borrett.

Accession Number: KO0467/04

Posted In Armour & apparel | Clothes & ornaments | Military | The Plunder
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Bronze patterned armlet

Published June 18, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Bronze patterned armlet

Where: The National Museums of Scotland

Sources:

The museums’ online catalogue entry has no picture

National Museums of Scotland spreadsheet
Accession number: A.1893.212
Description: Bronze annular armlet ornamented with a raised plaited pattern, ribs and pellets: Eastern Africa, Ethiopia, obtained at Magdala, 1868
Acquisition source: Mackenzie, William Sir K. C.B., C.S.I., 1811 – 1893

Posted In Clothes & ornaments | The Plunder
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Ethiopian earrings

Published June 18, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Earrings made of silver wire coiled into double scroll, bought from Major Holland

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

The catalogue entry reads: “Earrings, a pair. Silver wire in a double scroll. Abyssinian. Price £1.10.0 the pair. Purchased from Major Holland. Date of receipt from stores 26th April 1869…

“The vendor may have been Major Trevenen James Holland who, with a military colleague, Sir Henry Montague Hozier, provided the only official account of the expedition on the orders of the Secretary of State for War. Their Record of the Expedition to Abyssinia was published in two volumes in 1870.”

Museum number:
1730&A-1869

Posted In Clothes & ornaments | Miscellaneous | The Plunder
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Leather necklace with glass beads

Published June 18, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A necklace of leather, silver and glass bound with silver wire, and ornamented with glass beads, bought from Major Holland

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

The catalogue entry reads: “Necklace. Twisted leather bound with silver wire, and ornamented with glass? Beads; worn by the Galla women. Abyssinian. Price £10.0.0. Purchased from Major Holland. Date of receipt from stores 26th April 1869…

“The vendor may have been Major Trevenen James Holland who, with a military colleague, Sir Henry Montague Hozier, provided the only official account of the expedition on the orders of the Secretary of State for War. Their Record of the Expedition to Abyssinia was published in two volumes in 1870.”

Museum number:
1729-1869

Posted In Clothes & ornaments | The Plunder
Tagged