The Ethiopian government has stopped an UK auction of stolen artefacts and demanded the auction house “stop the cycle of dispossession”.

The two artefacts were looted by British forces in Ethiopia during the colonial-era. A leather Coptic bible and a set of three beakers were withdrawn from sale on 17 June by Busby auctioneers in Bridport, Dorset, after the intervention of the Ethiopian embassy in London.

According to reports in The Guardian, the embassy wrote to the auction house and appealed for the withdrawal of the items – which were taken in 1868 during the Battle of Maqdala.

In the letter to the auction house, the embassy said the return of the items would help bring to a close a “painful chapter” of the nation’s history.

The Ethiopian embassy also said, the items, which are valued at about £700, were a small but “important part of that story”.

“In the government’s view the auctioning of these items is, at best, unethical and, at worst, the continuation of a cycle of dispossession perpetrated by those who would seek to benefit from the spoils of war,” the letter said.

Busby confirmed the items had been withdrawn after discussions between the Ethiopian government and the seller.
According to The Guardian, negotiations are now taking place between the private seller and the Ethiopian government to ensure the items can return to their native country after more than 150 years.

This is not the first time the Ethiopian government has demanded the return of its historical items.
In 2007, they asked for the return of hundreds of items including jewellery and manuscripts taken from Maqdala, but had their request turned down.

In 2018, before an exhibition of items from Maqdala, the Victoria and Albert Museum said some items could be returned to Ethiopia on long- term loan. At the time, this idea was criticised by campaigners and African historians who said the items should be given back with no conditions attached and stressed the items cannot be ‘loaned’ to a country where they were originally stolen from.

The Ethiopian embassy said more than 20 private collectors had returned Maqdala items following requests.