What: Two Magdala Shields decorated in silver, taken by a private of the 33rd regiment
Where: Unknown, last seen in a ctalogue
Pictured on pages 26-29 of the catalogue ‘Wars, Art, Racism & Slavery‘, published in 2009 by the collector and dealer Michael Graham-Stewart. See full catalogue below.
AbeBooks describes ‘Wars, Art, Racism & Slavery‘ as ‘A catalogue of Michael Graham-Stewart Slavery Collection which was purchased by the National Maritime Museum [National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London] in 2002, having been assembled by Graham-Stewart over a period of 14 years.” But there is no mention of the shield in the Greenwich museums’ online database.
The photo of the first shield is captioned: “Shield 1868, Ethiopia the central boss engraved N. H. Stewart Dragoon Guards Magdala April 13 1868 hide with silver mounts, 57 cm.”
The second shield is captioned: “Shield 1868, Ethiopia with suspended engraved plaque detailing provenance hide with silver mounts, 55 cm.” The plaque reads: Shield of Native Chief taken at Magdala by a private of the 33rd regiment and presented by Captain Trent of the 33rd to Robert C. Clarke July 1868″.
Full catalogue