The Prince and the Plunder

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

Category: The Plunder

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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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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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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Shield covered in blue velvet, and silver gilt

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

What: A shield from the 18th or 19th century, covered in blue velvet with applied silver-gilt embossed and filigree mounts, with a commemorative brass plaque

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

The catalogue entry reads: “This shield was taken by the Royal Naval Brigade serving with British troops at the siege of Magdala (Mek’dala) in 1868. It was placed on loan at the South Kensington museum (later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) by the Lords of the Admiralty in 1868.”

Museum number:
M.24:1, 2-2005

Posted In Military | Shields | The Plunder
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Napier’s leopard skin cape, ‘taken at Magdala’

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

What: An “Abyssinian warrior’s leopard skin cape” that was presented to Robert Napier, the commander of the British force.

Where: The Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Rd, Gillingham ME7 1UR

The catalogue entry publishes five pictures of what it describes as an “Abyssinian warrior’s leopard skin cape comprising of a central section which is highly decorated with gold cylindrical elements and stylised floral metal elements around the collar”. It says there is a silver badge attached that reads: “Taken at Magdala April 13th 1868. Presented to Lord Napier at Magdala by Her Majesty’s Government.”

Details
Object number: 1203.2.4
Dimensions: 920 mm, 400 mm

Posted In Armour & apparel | Military | The Plunder
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Napier’s shield, ‘taken at Magdala’

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

What: A shield from Magdala presented to Robert Napier, the commander of the British forces

Where: The Royal Engineers Museum, Prince Arthur Rd, Gillingham ME7 1UR

The catalogue entry reads: “Abyssinian shield, in decorated leather with silver mounts. The circular shield forms a convex shape with a silver finial at the end. There are a series of silver metal plates alternating with plain rectangular and shaped forms ending in a floral design. They are indispersed with smaller decorative elements. On the bottom rectangular plate is inscribed; “Taken at Magdala April 13th 1868. Presented to Lord Napier of Magdala by her Majesty’s Government.”

Details
Object number: 1203.1.6
Diameter: 600 mm

Posted In Military | Shields | The Plunder
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