The Prince and the Plunder

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

Author: Andrew Heavens

Silver anklets

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

What: Silver anklets, ornamented with silver-gilt filigree, bought for £6 from Major Holland

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

The catalogue entry reads: “Silver, ornamented with silver-gilt filigree. Abyssinian. Price £6.0.0 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:
1728-1869

Posted In Adornments & jewelry | Royal regalia | 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
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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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Soldier’s silver anklet

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

What: An anklet, with incised ornament, “worn by soldiers”, bought from Major Holland

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

The catalogue entry reads: “Anklet. Silver with incised ornament, worn by soldiers. Abyssinian. Price £1.0.0. 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:
1731-1869

Posted In Armour & apparel | Military | 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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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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