British museum to return royal hair seized in Ethiopia 150 years ago

March 4, 2019 / 11:02 AM


Aaron Maasho

3 Min Read

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – A museum in Britain has agreed to return a ruler’s locks of hair cut from his corpse by a British soldier more than 150 years ago, Ethiopia said on Monday. FILE PHOTO: A traditionally-dressed Ethiopian woman walks past a mural depicting Ethiopia’s Emperor Tewodros II in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 1, 2007. REUTERS/Andrew Heavens

Emperor Tewodros II took his own life after his defeat by British troops at the Battle of Magdala in northern Ethiopia in 1868. His son, Prince Alemayehu, was subsequently taken to Britain, where he died in 1879 aged 18.

The locks, cut as a souvenir by an army artist, have been part of The National Army Museum’s collection in London since 1959, donated by the family of an artist who painted the emperor on his deathbed, the museum said.

The locks, cut as a souvenir by an army artist, have been part of The National Army Museum’s collection in London since 1959, donated by the family of an artist who painted the emperor on his deathbed, the museum said.

It had agreed to repatriate the items from its collection, considered to be human remains, after a request from Ethiopia’s minister of culture and tourism in April last year, the museum said in a statement.

“The objects are considered significant to the Museum’s collection for their historical connection to a major and unique campaign fought by the British Army in 1868 and were collected in good faith,” it said.

“The National Army Museum remains in discussions with the Embassy of Ethiopia in London on arrangements for formally returning the items.”

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The Ethiopian Embassy in Britain “welcomes and commends the unanimous decision by the Trustees of the National Army Museum to return locks of hair belonging to Ethiopia’s Emperor Tewodros II,” it said a statement.

“For Ethiopians everywhere, as the locks of hair represent the remains of one of the country’s most revered and beloved leaders, a display of jubilant euphoria is to be expected when it is returned to its rightful home in Ethiopia,” it said.

Emperor Tewodros II claimed a bloodline dating back to the biblical King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. His demise came after a British force stormed his mountaintop fortress to free European diplomats, missionaries and adventurers he had jailed.

The return of his hair follows a string of requests by Ethiopia for the repatriation of human remains and hundreds of illuminated manuscripts, gold crowns and other artifacts it says were stolen in 1868.

The Horn of Africa country has also been campaigning for the return of Prince Alemayehu’s bones. The young royal was buried in the crypt of St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Britain – also embroiled in a dispute with Greece over the return of the Parthenon Marbles – has so far resisted the campaigns, citing legislation that bans its museums from permanently disposing of their collections.

Editing by Janet LawrenceOur Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Source – The Guardian

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UK museum agrees to return Ethiopian emperor’s hair

National Army Museum says it has agreed to a formal request for two locks of hair of Tewodros II

Mark Brown Arts correspondent

Mon 4 Mar 2019 17.55 GMT Last modified on Mon 4 Mar 2019 20.35 GMT

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Tewodros II chose to kill himself rather than give himself up to the British after the capture of his mountain capital, Maqdala, in 1868.
Tewodros II chose to kill himself rather than give himself up to the British after the capture of his mountain capital, Maqdala, in 1868. Photograph: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images

A British museum has agreed to repatriate to Ethiopia two locks of hair taken from the head of the 19th-century emperor Tewodros II.

The National Army Museum on Monday said it had agreed to a formal request for the return of objects “considered to be of cultural sensitivity to Ethiopian citizens”.

Tewodros chose to kill himself rather than give himself up to the British after the capture in 1868 of Maqdala, his mountain capital, in order to rescue Europeans who had been taken captive.

Hundreds of treasures were plundered by the British, including a gold crown and a wedding dress which are in the collection of the V&A.Advertisement

The National Army Museum said the locks of Tewodros’s hair were given to it in 1959 by the family of an artist who painted the emperor on his deathbed. One of the locks was framed with a letter and the emperor’s seal.

The museum regarded them as important to the collection “for their historical connection to a major and unique campaign fought by the British army in 1868 and were collected in good faith”.

The Ethiopian government had called the display of the hair “inhumane”. It wants the hair returned so it can be interred with Tewodros at the Trinity Monastery in the northern part of the country.

Terri Dendy, head of collections at the museum, said: “Having spent considerable time researching the provenance and cultural sensitivities around this matter, we believe the Ethiopian government claim to repatriate is reasonable and we are pleased to be able to assist.

“Our decision to repatriate is very much based on the desire to inter the hair within the tomb alongside the emperor.”

The decision was welcomed by the Ethiopian embassy in London. “For Ethiopians everywhere, as the locks of hair represent the remains of one of the country’s most revered and beloved leaders, a display of jubilant euphoria is to be expected when it is returned to its rightful home in Ethiopia,” it said in a statement.

Tewodros’s seven-year-old son Prince Alemayehu was also taken – or kidnapped – after the Battle of Maqdala and became a favourite of Queen Victoria. He died at the age of 18 and was buried at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle at the request of Victoria.

A campaign to repatriate the young prince’s remains has been backed by the poet and author Lemn Sissay.

British museums have resisted requests to return hundreds objects from the time which are in their collections, although Tristram Hunt, director of the V&A, has suggested the idea of a long-term loan.

Last year Hunt told the Guardian it was complex debate. “You have to take it item by item and you have to take it history by history. Once you unpick the histories of the collections it becomes a great deal more complicated and challenging.”