The Prince and the Plunder

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

Author: Andrew Heavens

A 17th century parchment with sacred drawings, from the emperor’s palace

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: Drawings of St George and the Dragon , the Virgin and Child, Christ and His Disciples, in Gethsemane, Christ scourged, Christ mocked, the Crucifixion and Taking Down from the Cross, likely taken from a manuscript

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

The catalogue entry reads: “This drawing was brought from the Emperor Theodore’s Palace at Magdala on its destruction by the Abyssinian Expedition, 1868. Purchased from Mr McNaughton, 4 Oct 1920.”

Museum number:
E.3937-1920

Posted In Loose pages | Manuscripts | Unspecified
Tagged

Prayer scroll with red-tinted drawings

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A prayer scroll with three red-tinted pen drawings

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

The catalogue describes: “Prayers, charms and incantations for diseases and evil spirits: Manuscript”. 

Label and date:
“Maqdala 1868 display, 5 April 2018 – 30 June 2019″

Museum number:
MSL/1869/187

Posted In Manuscripts | Scrolls | The Plunder
Tagged

A scroll described as a ‘Coptic parchment strip of St. Mark’s Gospel’

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A scroll described as “a parchment strip of St. Mark’s Gospel”

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

The catalogue entry has several pictures and describes it as “a Coptic parchment strip of St. Mark’s Gospel”.

Accession Number: KO0327/01a-a-i

Posted In Manuscripts | Scrolls
Tagged

The King’s Own ‘Bible’, with note mentioning Senafe, a stop on the march *

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: An illustrated Ethiopian manuscript described as a “Bible”, more likely a collection of saints lives and miracles

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

The Regiment Museum website publishes several pictures including one of a page with this English hand-written message: “Presented to the Revd. Fisher Turner by ? Stokes Esq 1/4 King’s Own Royal Regiment. In token of the esteem and friendship he had for his son Frederic Cooper Turner Esq, 1/4 King’s Own Royal Regiment. Senafe, Abyssinia, 26 May 1868.”

Frederic Cooper Turner’s medals are in the museum’s collection. Prior to joining the army he served as a midshipman in the Indian Navy 1858-1863. Present at the assault at Fort Beyt and with the Naval Brigade in the Okamunder Field Force at the Capture of Dwarka in 1859, and in the China Campaign and Capture of Taku forts, 1860. Ensign 8 Aug 1865 with 1st Foot. Transferred to King’s Own on 22 Aug 1865, served in Abyssinia. Lieutenant 1870. Adjutant 1876-8. Captain 1878. Promoted Major 1883 to Northamptonshire Regiment, later Lieutenant Colonel. Died 26 Jan 1921. KOLIB0066

Accession Number: KOLIB0066-

Posted In Biblical books | Manuscripts
Tagged

A fragment of the Miracles of Mary “from a church in Magdala”

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / 1 Comment on A fragment of the Miracles of Mary “from a church in Magdala”

What: An illustrated double page taken out of an 18th century manuscript of the Miracles of Mary, found in one of the churches at Magdala

Where: The National Records of Scotland, 2 Princes St, Edinburgh EH1 3YY

The entry in the Records catalogue reads:
Abyssinian liturgical fragment
Ref no: GD1/1317/1-2
C18th
Page from an illuminated Coptic manuscript with miniatures depicting the Miracles of Mary, acquired by Lt H.H. Cole (1843-1916) from a church in Magdala in 1868
It is made up of four pages, back to back – i.e. one double page, pulled out, printed on both sides. Maybe the centre pages.
Four illustrations, two tall, thin oblongs, one shorter oblong and a backwards L-shape.

Posted In Festivals & miracles of Mary, Jesus & the angels | Loose pages | Manuscripts
Tagged

Manuscript ‘acquired by my friend Captain James’ (Or.MS.461-462)

Published February 26, 2024 / by Andrew Heavens / Leave a Comment

What: A manuscript in two volumes of the Acts of St George according to Theodotus of Ancyra with 20 full-page coloured illustrations

Where: Edinburgh University Library, 30 George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9LJ

One of 11 manuscripts in Edinburgh University Library written in Amharic or Ge’ez. Two of them – this one and a Bible – are positively linked with the battle of Magdala in the catalogue. Two others were “procured – i.e. not necessarily looted – on some of the British mission’s stop-overs on their way there.

The catalogue entry labels this manuscript Or.MS.461-462 and reads: “Gadala Georgios. The Acts of St George according to Theodotus of Ancyra. Ethiopic/Amharic. 2 vols, 163, 129 ff. Vellum, 30 by 26 cm. 20 full-page coloured illustrations. Brown camel or calf skin binding over thick wooden blind-tooled boards. Repaired by D.Cockerell, 1961. With MS letter of John Wilson to Sir Alexander Grant, Principal of the University, accompanying the gift, 1871 “Acquired by my friend Captain James after the taking of Magdala”.

The two other manuscripts in the library “procured” on the way are Or.MS.656 [Bible. Psalms.] Ethiopic/Amharic and Or.MS.673 Portion of the Gospels (?). Parchment Scroll. Ethiopic/Amharic. 

The arrival of the last two, as well as a copy of the Gospels currently in the National Library of Scotland, is described in Volume 8 (1868-70) of The Proceedings of the Antiquaries of Scotland. This says: “The large book, believed to be the Priest’s Bible, or rather the one belonging to the church, and from which he explained to his people, was procured in a church between Adabagah and Dongalo, about thirty-two or thirty-three miles south of Adigrat. The smaller book and scrolls were mostly procured in the neighbourhood of Senafe, from churches and villages. One of the boos was said to be the Psalms … Presented … by Captain Charles McInroy, Staff Service, Madras.”

Posted In Acts & miracles of the saints | Manuscripts
Tagged