Ethiopia, the Aksum Obelisk, and the Return of Africa's Cultural Heritage
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6024847 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rita Pankhurst (Addis Ababa University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1999 |
| Volume | 98 |
| Issue | 391 |
| Pages | 229-239 |
| Publication date | 1999-04-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0001-9909 • E-ISSN: 1468-2621 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1093/oxfordjournals.afraf.a008009 |
| OpenAlex | W2170868068 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
Ethiopia, an ancient African state, has suffered from extensive foreign looting twice in modern times. Firstly, in 1868, when the British expedition against Emperor Tewodros II looted crowns, crosses and religious manuscripts from his mountain fortress of Maqdala. The second occasion was during the Italian Fascist occupation of 1936–1941, when the invaders seized crowns, state papers, and one of the famous early fourth century obelisks of Aksum. Both acts of looting are relevant to current discussion on the return to Africa of artifacts looted during the colonial era, for which they provide precedents. The looting of Maqdala was followed, in the ensuing century, by the British Government's gradual restitution to Ethiopia of several looted artifacts—though the lion's share still remains in Britain. Fascist Italy's defeat in the Second World War was followed in 1947 by an Italian Peace Treaty with the United Nations, in which Italy agreed to return all loot taken from Ethiopia. Most, but by no means all, articles were returned. The Aksum obelisk, however, remained in Rome. This led to Ethiopian, and international, agitation, after which the Italian Government agreed to the obelisk's return. This has, however, still to be effected
Ancient history · Appeasement · Archaeology · Colonialism · Economic history · Geography · Looting · Political science · Politics · State (computer science · Treaty · African history and culture analysis · Archaeological Research and Protection · History · Italian Fascism and Post-war Society · Law
Victorian and Edwardian Material Culture
Recovering cultural heritage
A weeper in the keepers’ club
Planned Plunder, the British Museum, and the 1868 Maqdala Expedition
Forum on Recognition in Foreign Policy (Analysis) and (The Study of) Diplomacy
Richard Pankhurst (1927–2017)
Restitution vs. Retention
Lucy to Lalibela
Between "colonial amnesia" and "victimization biases
The Book Liberator. Rastafari and the Return of Maqdala's Artefacts to Ethiopia
La stèle éthiopienne de Rome
Les stèles d'Aksum
Monuments publics au XXIe siècle
Displacing the Colonial Event
| Unique citing works | 14 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,64 |
| Citation span | 2004 - 2025 (22) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 14 |