Abyssinia Project
Addressing the colonial era legacy of the King's Own Royal Regiment and researching cultural objects related to the 1868 Abyssinian campaign.
In 2022 the Museums were instrumental in securing £53,000 for the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum Trustees to undertake the Abyssinia Project exploring the colonial era legacy of the 1868 campaign and the objects in their collection. Eyob Derillo, an Ethiopian expert from the British Library, has been appointed as the Project Officer, and the project has attracted significant international interest.
The King’s Own collection includes objects taken during the 19th-century campaign in Abyssinia, now Ethiopia. Many of these objects may have a deep cultural significance for the modern nation and Eyob Derillo, an Abyssinian specialist and author of histories of magic, has been engaged to research the objects in the collection relating to the Campaign, both from the Abyssinian (Ethiopian) and British sides.
The project also aims to work with source communities such as the Ethiopian community within Britain, the National Museum of Ethiopia and also the Regimental family as well as local students and volunteers.
The work is particularly relevant as there have been calls from Ethiopia to return looted objects that are considered sacred by those involved in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.
The King’s Own Museum wants to tell the stories not only of the regiment’s soldiers but also their “adversaries”, who they met on the battlefield. Our ambition is to now work in partnership with stakeholders from Ethiopia in bringing a fully rounded perspective and involvement in what was a truly extraordinary event, the 1868 invasion of Abyssinia by British forces, including the King’s Own Royal Regiment, to secure hostages.
The British government often employed its military strength to settle its disputes with foreign powers. In this case, the army was called upon to free several Europeans who were being held captive in Abyssinia. The King’s Own was one of three regiments to serve in this campaign. On arrival from India, the King’s Own marched many hundreds of miles inland to the fortress of Magdala. During the Battle of Arogie, the Abyssinians were defeated and the fortress was stormed days later. The conflict resulted in the sacking of the fortress of Magdala, the death of Emperor Tewodros II, and the subsequent auction of items from the fortress/palace.
Photos from the collection, clockwise from top left:
- Exterior and interior of Magdala fortress.
- Abyssinian Fiddler.
- The Church of Madhane Alam, dedicated to the Saviour of the World.
- Kassa's Prime Minister and followers.
The King's Own collection also includes a number of beautifully illuminated scrolls and texts such as this one, alongside other artefacts from both sides.
The links below will take you to the websites of some other museums and libraries in the UK which house items from Ethiopia, including those relating to the Abyssinia campaign of 1868. Ongoing research and cataloguing efforts continue to uncover more of these objects and their stories. Find out more in this article from The Standard: Cultural Treasures from Ethiopia found in London.
Museums
British Museum (London): Maqdala Collection - The British Museum has a significant collection of Ethiopian artifacts, including items from the Maqdala collection. This collection includes ceremonial crosses, chalices, processional umbrella tops, weapons, textiles, jewelry, and sacred altar tablets known as tabots.
Victoria and Albert Museum (London) - The V&A Museum holds various Ethiopian artifacts, including a crown and royal wedding dress.
The National Army Museum (London) - This collection includes many items from Ethiopia, and the museum's website explores the history of the 1868 campaign as well as recent stories of repatriation:
Wellcome Collection (London) - This collection includes Ethiopian manuscripts and other historical items.
Westminster Abbey (London) - The abbey's collection of holy relics includes a number of tabots from Ethiopia.
Libraries
British Library (London) - The British Library has a collection of Ethiopian manuscripts and historical documents.
Bodleian Library (Oxford) - This library holds a variety of Ethiopian manuscripts and rare books.
We are seeking an experienced evaluator for the Abyssinia project which is being run by Lancaster City Museums in partnership with the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum Trust.
‘Abyssinia: re-appraising a colonial era legacy of the King’s Own Royal Regiment’ aims to develop the participative practice of the King’s Own Trustees and Lancaster City Museums with regard to the Regiment’s colonial-era service.
The project is currently researching the objects that came into the King’s Own collections from the Abyssinia Expedition, and they will soon be placed online in a more accessible form and context than is currently the case.
We are just starting the work of engaging with both the Ethiopian community within this country as well as the Regimental family, Lancaster University’s Decolonisation Network and the Lancaster Black History Group.
This work will then be brought together into a re-interpretation of the area of the museum that addresses the Abyssinia Expedition.
The final stage of the project will see the completion of a Restitution & Repatriation Policy for the King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum Trust and Lancaster City Museums.
With this project we aim to take a significant step forward in terms of addressing the colonial-era legacy of the Regiment. Telling the regimental story in the context of the colonial-era is challenging, but we hope that this project will help to provide a much-needed way forward for other small regimental museums.
The evaluation contract is scheduled to last until end December 2025 and the contract value is £6,000.
Please see the attached Evaluation brief (PDF, 116KB). Applications should be received by 23:59 on 30 November 2024 and be sent to Carolyn Dalton, Museum Development Manager at cdalton@lancaster.gov.uk
The project is funded by MA/Esmee Fairbairn Collections Fund.
