The Prince and the Plunder

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

Tag: British Museum

Matchlock gun

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

What: Matchlock gun inlaid with brass and ivory, 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: “Matchlock gun (with octagonal barrel); wood (?) stock inlaid with brass and ivory.”

Details
Museum number Af1868,1001.27
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Military | The Plunder | Weapons
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Saint Roumanos’s communion cup

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

What: A communion cup, said to have belonged to the 5th century saint Roumanos, 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:

“Chalice or communion cup cast in bronze in two parts; bowl and stem with round base. The base of the bowl is soldered to the top of the stem. The round base is decorated with triangular and diamond patterns, some having become irregular holes in the casting process.”

Curator’s comments:

“Said to have belonged to Roumanos, a 5th century saint. ‘From church at Baraka'”

Details
Museum number: Af1868,1001.12
Date: 5thC (?)
Height: 18 cm
Width: 15.4 cm
Depth: 15.4 cm
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Chalices & vessels | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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The British Museum robe

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

What: Robe 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.

This appears to be at one of a group of similar robes, cloaks or mantles from Magdala currently split up in the store rooms of The British Museum, The Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and The Ethnological Museum of Berlin. See the ones we have tracked down here.

The Berlin database entry, which has several detailed images, gives details on the collection and suggests Emperor Tewodros initially commissioned them to send as presents to Queen Victoria.

The British Museum catalogue entry reads:

“Robe made of silk with embroidered designs in silk thread. The robe has appliqued filigree and repoussé worked silver gilt ornaments.”

Museum number: Af1868,1001.23
Date: 19thC
Condition: Fragile
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Royal regalia | The Plunder | Victoria's robes
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Processional cross

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

What: A processional cross with window-ling motifs, 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:

“Processional cross made of brass in two parts; cross and hollow, cast shaft with lower arms. The gently tapered shaft has a deep vertical slot at the top into which the body of the cross sits and is secured in place with two iron nails. The lower arms extend horizontally out from the shaft and extend towards the body of the cross at an angle of 45 degrees where they attach to the shaft just below the body of the cross. The left lower arm has broken away from the shaft at the top.

“The body of the cross has a central patée cross with flared arms set within a quatrefoil. Separating the cross from the quatrefoil are four motifs resembling crossed double lancet windows. Around the edge of the Quatrefoil are seven patée crosses with arms which flare out and join to form a square with ovoid cut outs known as dove’s eyes. Between the patée crosses are six crosses formed by four rings. The outline of the quatrefoil and the centres of the crosses are engraved with linear designs.”

Details
Museum number: Af1868,1001.18
Date18thC(mid)-18thC(late)
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Crosses | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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Censer

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

What: A bronze censer 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:

“Censer cast in bronze in four parts; round open work base, bowl, domed open work lid and open work handle. The hollow base narrows to a cylindrical stem which is soldered to the base of the bowl. Three suspension rings on the rim of the bowl correspond to three similar on the rim of the lid, through which three iron chains pass, each decorated with three round bronze bells. The open work of the lid forms crescents and diamond shaped cut outs. It is surmounted with and open sided box mounted with a cross. A fourth iron chain is attached to a suspension hole in the top of the cross. All the chains attach to a cast bronze, open work handle, hollow with looped top, mounted with a cross. The open work forms twelve squares. The inner surface of the censer is encrusted with burnt incense.

Details:
Museum number: Af1868,1001.15
Height: 28 cm (top of the lid)
Height: 67 cm (with chains and handle extended)
Width: 15 cm
Depth: 15 cm
Previous owner/ex-collection: Sir Richard Rivington Holmes
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Censers & sistrums | Sacred artefacts | The Plunder
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Shotel sword and sheath with brass pommel *

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

What: A shotel sword and sheath with a brass pommel, given by Secretary of State for India, Sir Stafford Henry Northcote

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

The catalogue entries read: 

“Shotel forged from iron with carved wooden hilt. The double edged sword is sickle shaped with a central riser and is bevelled on either side towards the the edges.”

“Sheath for shotel made of leather, decorated on the outer surfaces with a layer of red saffian leather tooled with linear and cruciform decorations. The sheath is stitched centrally along one side with leather thread using a herring bone stitch. Around the top edge of the opening is a decorative binding of plaited leather. A leather belt with a large metal buckle is stitched to the top of the sheath. The end of the sheath is decorated with a cast brass pommel, lomi, which is pressed into the tip of the sheath and secured by a band of stitched green leather. The spherical pommel has three concentric bands and a small round finial.”

Detail
Museum number: Af1868,1230.9.a and Af1868,1230.9.b
Date: 19thC(mid)
Acquisition name: Sir Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh
Acquisition date: 1868

Posted In Military | The Plunder | Weapons
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