Ethiopia wants its artefacts, snatched by the British during the 1868 invasion of Maqdala, the then capital of Emperor Tewodros II, returned from museums in the United Kingdom. Will it succeed? Probably not.
Ethiopia wants its artefacts, snatched by the British during the 1868 invasion of Maqdala, the then capital of Emperor Tewodros II, returned from museums in the United Kingdom. Will it succeed? Probably not.
But is it an entirely hopeless situation?
The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London is open to sending a few on loan, for instance. Not that there have not been occasions where some African artefacts were returned outright. But they are few and far between.
There could be more repatriation soon, though, if President Emmanuel Macron of France backs his words with action. In a now famous quote from a speech he delivered in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, in November 2017, Macron said “African heritage must be highlighted in Paris, but also in Dakar, in Lagos, in Cotonou”.
Still, the French president’s fine words would probably just remain on paper as Africa’s fine works remain locked up in museums in Paris and elsewhere in Europe. In the past, such remarks have proved to be nothing but empty promises.
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