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1 of 253523 objects
Headdress 19th century
Gold and velvet | 22.0 x 20.0 x 20.0 cm (whole object) | RCIN 69682
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A drum-shaped headdress of purple velvet and gold filigree with a star-shaped finial and four quadrants separated by filigree bands, each containing a Maltese cross; chain tassels attached to the finial. Lined with red velvet.
Provenance
Sent to King George V on the occasion of his coronation by Emeperor Menelik of Abyssinia in 1911. The headdress is depicted in the Illustrated London News on 9 September 1911 as item no. 1 of 'Coronation Gifts to His Majesty from Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia'. An attached label also echoes the caption accompanying the article: 'Sign that he had killed a Danakil in battle: the gilt head-dress of a warrior, a decoration instituted after the Danakil War.' This and the other Abyssinian gifts were lent to the Board of Education for exhibition at the Bethnal Green Museum in 1911; they were subsequently dispatched to the Tower in 1958 and later sent on long-term loan to the Horniman Museum in 1967.
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Creator(s)
(nationality)Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Gold and velvet
Measurements
22.0 x 20.0 x 20.0 cm (whole object)
Category
Object type(s)
Place of Production
Amhara [Ethiopia]
