The Prince and the Plunder

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

Category: Sacred artefacts

Silver gilt paten inscribed with the emperor’s name

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

What: A silver gilt paten, inscribed with the emperor’s name, 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 mentioned at length in acquisition notes. Paten marked with Tewodros’s name.

The catalogue entry reads:

“Paten made of silver gilt engraved with holy images on uppermost surface and Ge’ez inscriptions around the rim. In the centre of the paten is the representation of Christ as the sacrificial lamb, to the left is the Virgin Mary with a cross on her mantle and an elaborate halo. She kneels before the lamb; tears are shown on her face and her hands are raised in grief. To the right are two identical bearded men in tears, with hands raised in grief. Below the lamb is a semi prostrate figure of a man in priest’s robes. Around the edge of the paten are eleven figures which represent Christ’s followers, all bearded and wearing hooded priests’ robes. Around the internal surface of the raised rim are seven angels.”

Inscription Translation: “This paten […] (for the) house of Mary was given by Emperor Tewodros for the deliverance of his body and soul.”

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1001.11
Field Collection by: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Chalices & vessels | Sacred artefacts | Said to belong to Tewodros | The Plunder
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The Abuna’s gold crown

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

What: The abuna’s crown, dated 1740, made of gold alloyed with silver and copper with filigree work, glass beads, pigment and gilded copper

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

The catalogue entry reads: “This crown was probably given to an Ethiopian church at the death of an emperor, by his family, to ensure continuing prayers for his soul. Around the two lower tiers are images of the twelve Apostles, Christ’s closest followers. On the top section are the four Evangelists – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – who wrote the Gospels. The crown was taken by British troops at the siege of Magdala (Mek’dala) in 1868. It was deposited at the South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) by H.M. Treasury in 1872.”

Physical description:
“The crown is constructed of an inner raised and domed cylinder surrounded by three pierced tiers. The latter are supported so that they stand away from the inner cylinder. It is thought that originally fabric would have covered the cylindrical portion of the inner body. The remains of the fabric are now crumpled behind the tiers. The fabric behind the top tier is green, while that behind the lower tiers is of a darker green. All are very faded. The domed portion of the crown is decorated with the four apostles and other figures, embossed and chased. Attached to it are eight filigree bead casings, with some beads remaining. The decoration of the tiers appears to have been stamped or chisel-cut from sheet metal.”

Museum number:
M.27-2005

Posted In Bishops crowns & regalia | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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Processional cross

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

What: Processional cross

Where: Lancaster Priory, Priory Close, Lancaster, LA1 1YZ

One of four processional crosses taken from Magdala by The King’s Own Royal Regiment. They were put on display in The King’s Own Regimental Memorial Chapel in Lancaster Priory.

According to this archived page on the chapel’s website which has a picture of two of the crosses:

“In Abyssinia [now Ethiopia] in 1868 the Regiment recovered four Coptic Crosses from a heap of scrap brass awaiting recycling into guns at an arsenal at Magdala. The crosses probably date from the 4th or 5th century.

“The largest of these is used as a processional cross. The only [known] other one used for this purpose is in Westminster Abbey. Two smaller crosses are on display in this Chapel.

“Illustrations on the crosses are simple engravings of Gospel stories, including the Nativity, Crucifixion, the Deposition and Resurrection.”

Posted In Crosses | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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Sacred church hanging, described as the largest tablet-woven textile in the world

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

What: A woven silk hanging, described as the largest of its kind in the world, used to conceal the entrance to the Holy of Holies of an Ethiopian church, 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 mentioned at length in acquisition notes

The hanging shows “woven depictions of Ethiopian crowned figures, religious attendants and armed guards on a carefully arranged background filled with geometric patterning,” according to Martha H. Henze’s 2007 paper “Studies of Imported Textiles in Ethiopia” in the Journal of Ethiopian Studies.

“This single panel measures 504 cm in length and varies in width between 54 and 62 cm,” she adds.

The British Museum catalogue entry reads: 

“This cloth was designed as the central section of a triptych which would have screened the inner sanctum, maqdas, from the main body of an Ethiopian Orthodox Christian church … This is the largest tablet-woven textile in the world …  It is woven entirely of imported Chinese silk, and the figures that appear on it are depicted in such detail that the soldiers can be seen to be carrying firearms of Indian manufacture. The event commemorated is probably the lying-in-state of King Bakaffa (reigned 1722-30). Bakaffa, Mentaub, his wife, and their young son Iyasu are all depicted wearing the plaited band of blue silk, matab, which was a symbol of their Christian faith.”

References:
C. Spring and J. Hudson, Silk in Africa (London, The British Museum Press, 2002)
C.J. Spring and J. Hudson, North African textiles (London, The British Museum Press, 1995) See file in Eth Doc 439 in AOA Archives on transfer of these objects from former Medieval & Later Dept.
Less
Bibliography: Spring & Hudson 2002 p.2 bibliographic details

Exhibited:
1995-96, London, Museum of Mankind (Room 4), ‘Secular and Sacred’
2008-2009 29 Sep-05 Apr, New York, Metropolitan Museum, The Essential Art of African Textiles: Design Without End
2012 April-July, Manarat Al Saadayat,Abu Dhabi, Treasures of the world’s cultures

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1001.22
Field Collection by: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Hangings | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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Silver and gold communion cup inscribed with the emperor’s name

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

What: A silver and gold communion cup, inscribed with Emperor Tewodros’ name, 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 mentioned at length in acquisition notes. Cup marked with Tewodros’s name.

The catalogue entry reads:

“Communion chalice made of silver and gilded with gold on the interior surface. The chalice has a wide circular base with a finely crenulated edge, a tall octagonal stem with three convex bands of moulding with wire work decoration and a crenulated rim with ge’ez inscription.”

Inscription Translation: This eucharist chalice for Jesus […] was given by Emperor Tewodros for the salvation of his body and soul.

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1001.8
Field Collection by: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes biography
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Chalices & vessels | Sacred artefacts | Said to belong to Tewodros | The Plunder
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Steel cross

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

What: Steel cross

Where: The National Museums of Scotland

Sources:

The museums’ online catalogue entry has one image

National Museums of Scotland spreadsheet
Accession number: A.1893.210
Description: Steel cross, Greek form, with four equal ornate arms and flat square tablet at end of stem ornamented with incised circles and points: Eastern Africa, Ethiopia, obtained at the Storming of Magdala, 1868
Acquisition source: Mackenzie, William Sir K. C.B., C.S.I., 1811 – 1893

Posted In Crosses | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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