UK could loan treasures back to Ethiopia

BRITAIN could return treasures such as a gold crown and a royal wedding dress to Ethiopia on long-term loan after taking them from the country 150 years ago.

Hundreds of manuscripts and artefacts plundered after the 1868 capture of Maqdala, the mountain capital of Emperor Tewodros II in what was then Abyssinia, are now held by various British institutions.

Ethiopia lodged a formal restitution claim in 2007, which was refused.

But Tristram Hunt, director of the Victoria and Albert Museum, has now indicated that he might be prepared to return some of the treasures in the form of a loan.

Speaking ahead of a Maqdala display that opened at the museum this week, he told The Guardian: “The speediest way, if Ethiopia wanted to have these items on display, is a long-term loan.”

The proposal was welcomed by the Ethiopian state and campaigners but Mr Hunt said it was a complex issue: “Once you unpick the histories of the collections, it becomes a great deal more complicated and challenging.”

The development follows a pledge given by Emmanuel Macron, the French president, that the return of African artefacts would be a “top priority” for his administration.