Victoria and Albert Museum director Tristram Hunt says productive talks with Ethiopia’s ambassador Hailemichael Aberra Afework are still aimed at displaying Maqdala-era treasures in Addis Ababa. The Guardian’s Vanessa Thorpe wrote that the plan continues even though the Ethiopian Government has objected to a long-term loan that would, in Addis Ababa’s view, acknowledge British ownership.
The objects — including a chalice, a wedding dress, and jewellery — were taken after the 1868 British expedition against Emperor Tewodros II at Maqdala and later reached the V&A through the British treasury. A 2018 V&A exhibition, organised with the Ethiopian embassy in London, told that contested story on the 150th anniversary of the battle and intensified the restitution debate.
Hunt said the museum was “working towards” a display in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian officials want a clearer path than a loan that leaves title in London. The gap between exhibition diplomacy and ownership politics remains the obstacle.
For Ethiopian audiences, seeing sacred and royal objects on home ground would be more than a touring show. It would test whether major British museums can move contested African collections beyond storage and temporary loans.
Sources: The Guardian