🔗 Share this article

Around 12 cultural items were officially returned to Ethiopia following remaining by a German family for in excess of 100 years.

These items, initially acquired in the 1920s by the German then-envoy to the Ethiopian empire a German envoy and his spouse his partner, were transferred on Wednesday to the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University.

The assortment contained royal crowns, armor and artistic works, each considered as historically valuable in Ethiopia.

"These treasures continue to serve as a symbol of the enduring and amicable relationship between Germany and the Ethiopian people," stated Germany's envoy, Germany's representative to the East African country.

Dr. a professor, whose parent was delivered during the family's assignment in Ethiopia, presented the objects at a ceremony witnessed by Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa.

He stated that the household's goal to return the artefacts was to "showcase their splendor with the public and preserve the heritage and past linked to my father's birth."

These objects were either considered gifts or acquisitions, based on the relatives.

"I want to express gratitude to the Weiss relatives for practically expressing their sincere love for the nation by diligently maintaining these artifacts and crucially guaranteeing their homecoming to their rightful country," said the tourism minister.

The minister noted that the artefacts would soon be made accessible to the people for research and educational purposes, terming the action a milestone in protecting the nation's national treasures.

"Efforts will continue to return historical items that are located in the hands of collectors and organizations throughout the planet," the minister affirmed.

In the era of colonial rule in Africa, thousands of traditional objects were looted.

The call by nations in Africa for the repatriation of stolen objects has been responded to by certain positive outcomes in the past few years - although a number of artefacts are just on short-term display.

Back in the year 2022, Germany was the first state to give back a selection of the well-known historical items to the Nigerian people as part of an effort to deal with its "complex past."

Connected Themes

• Cultural Repatriation Movements in Africa
• This Effect of Colonial History on Contemporary Ethiopian Culture
• Global Movements for the Restitution of Stolen Items