Royal Ethiopian Trust (RET) led by H.I.H. Prince Ermias Sale-Selassie Haile-Selassie hand over the Magdala Shield to the Ethiopian Heritage Protection Authority.
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Dr. Pankhurst has returned to Ethiopia where the shield was received at the National Museum by officials of the Museum and the Heritage Authority, as well as members of the Ethiopian Patriots Association. The shield is now on permanent display at the museum.
Among the five pillars of the Royal Ethiopian Trust is “Preserving Ethiopia’s Imperial Heritage”, and the return of this magnificent shield clearly falls squarely under this pillar. On October 26, 2024, the Toledo Museum of Art presented Dr. Alula Pankhurst who gave an interesting presentation about the Magdala shield and other items looted from Magdala. Toledo Museum is currently hosting the “Ethiopia at the Crossroads” exhibit, and the curator Sophie Ong moderated a discussion with H.I.H. Prince Ermias and Dr. Alula Pankhurst about the issue of the restitution and repatriation of historic, cultural, and religious items currently in the hands of western institutions and private individuals.
The Magdala Shield had been looted from Magdala by British forces in 1868 shortly after the suicide of Emperor Tewodros II. Tewodros II is considered to be one of Ethiopia’s transformative monarchs. His legend has inspired songs, works of art, literature and feuls patriotism and pride in the hearts of many, so its return is no small thing. Other items looted from Magdala or taken away under various circumstances however remain in the hands of people and institutions outside Ethiopia. The RET is committed to do all it can to restore and preserve our great heritage by working to bring these treasures great and small back into the hands of the Ethiopian people.
Please join us in achieving more such successes by visiting https://royalethiopiantrust.org ,
Learn about the other pillars of the RET and how we are working on each of them. Then hit that donate button and help us achieve the Ethiopia Tewodros II dreamed of.
