Ethiopia

Maqdala shield to be repatriated to Ethiopia

Withdrawn from auction in February, the shield will make a stop at the Toledo Museum of Art before going on public display at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa

How an artist and curator duo are transforming Addis Ababa with their eco-driven projects

Elias Sime and Meskerem Assegued are due to open their biggest building project so far—a cultural centre in the mountains—this autumn

Diaryblog

Venice diary day 3: Burberry in Venice, an Ethiopian dinner celebrating Saatchi Yates artist, and a luxurious commute

Our diarist’s final entry for 2024 saw her witness a challenging balancing act, attend an unusual lunch and catch some behind-the-scenes action

Elias Sime unearths the catastrophic beauty of mineral extraction in his new Venice show

The Ethiopian artist is exhibiting seven works built from technological waste such as computer motherboards and wire

Westminster Abbey decides ‘in principle’ to return Ethiopian tabot

Discussions are ongoing between the Dean at Westminster and the Ethiopian Church over the possible restitution of the sacred object

Investigation by Portuguese newspaper reveals grappling between politicians and museums over future of Kwer’ata Re’esu

Disagreement centred over whether the painting, looted in 1868 and later sold to a private collector in Portugal, should be bought by the government and returned to Ethopia

Ethiopian culture explored with Medieval icons, Haile Selassie’s cloak and scratch-and-sniff cards

An exhibition at the Walters Art Museum spanning two millennia looks to open our eyes to the splendour of an intercontinental cultural hub

The Big Review: Africa & Byzantium at Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York ★★★★☆

An array of artefacts show how cultural cross-pollination thrived across centuries and continents under Byzantine rule

Unravelling the Kwer’ata Re’esu mystery: experts say the painter could be Iberian, Flemish—or German

The painting had been looted at the battle of Maqdala in 1868, but is now in the possession of a Portuguese collector

Sacred Ethiopian tablet looted by the British at the battle of Maqdala 155 years ago is returned in London church service

Restitution of tabot, which was bought by an art scholar for this purpose, puts spotlight on the British Museum to return 11 in its possession

Exclusive: first colour photographs shed fresh light on Ethiopia's most treasured icon and its looting by an agent of the British Museum

An Art Newspaper investigation uncovers new details on the infamous seizure in 1868 by Richard Holmes of a 500-year-old painting of Christ, the Kwer’ata Re’esu, which never reached the London institution

King Charles III faces pressure to return sacred tabot—which symbolically represents the Ark of the Covenant—to Ethiopia

Westminster Abbey, which is directly under the monarch’s jurisdiction, currently refuses to return the holy tablet

Ethiopia's oldest icon may be the work of an Italian master

An artist from Siena could have travelled to Africa in the 14th century to create triptych, which is in a remote monastery in northern Ethiopia

Ethiopian gallery Addis Fine Art to open space in London

One of the few Black-owned galleries in London, the space will open with a show of Nirit Takele in October as the gallery takes part in Frieze London for the first time

Maqdala treasures looted by British troops returned to Ethiopia in 'largest single restitution'

At the ceremony in London, the Ethiopian ambassador renewed calls for museums to return Maqdala objects

Sacred rock-hewn churches at risk as rebel forces take control of Ethiopia's Unesco World Heritage Site Lalibela

Historic town, a holy site for millions of Orthodox Christians, caught up in widening Tigray conflict

Looted Maqdala objects—pulled from rural English auction at the last minute—will be returned to Ethiopia

Busby auction house confirms it has "negotiated a settlement" after Ethiopian officials requested the return of items stolen by British troops in a brutal 1868 battle

Ethiopian heritage under attack as reports of massacre emerge

Eyewitnesses say Eritrean military stormed an Ethiopian Orthodox Church in Axum, killing hundreds

British Museum considers loan of ‘invisible’ objects back to Ethiopia

Country has requested return of 11 tabots held in sealed storeroom that the Ethiopian Orthodox Church believes should only be viewed by its priests

London museum returns emperor's hair—taken by a British officer as a war trophy—to Ethiopia

The two locks will be buried at the monastery where emperor Tewodros' body was interred

Ethiopia claims Ten Commandments tablet hidden in Westminster Abbey

Sacred object taken by British troops in the 19th century is concealed inside an altar

'Where is the crown of Maqdala?', V&A asks Ethiopia

Crown that was returned in 1925 has disappeared

British Museum, V&A, British Library and more face restitution claims as Ethiopia moves for Maqdala treasures

Treasures lost in the punitive sacking of Maqdala are subject to restitution claims

UK museums face controversial Ethiopian legacy: The Maqdala materials at the British Museum, the V&A, and the British Library

The Art Newspaper reveals that sacred Maqdala tablets are hidden away in a sealed store of the British Museum

Holy tabots to be transferred from British Museum to Ethiopian church

Conversely, the University of Edinburgh has ruled against returning their own war loot

Ethiopian restitution claims at the British Museum: The museum responds

Update on requests for information regarding objects seized at battle of Maqdala

Ethiopian restitution claims at the British Museum: The Art Newspaper Investigates

British Museum holds collection of objects seized at battle of Maqdala

Looted artarchive

From the archive (1998): How The Art Newspaper tracked down Ethiopia’s greatest icon after its looting by a British agent in 1868

The Kwer'ata Re'esu was kept in a bank vault in Portugal, where our correspondent examined it and took colour photographs in 1998