Provenance

Possibly sent to King George V on the occasion of his coronation by Emeperor Menelik of Abyssinia in 1911.

They appear to match two long garments depicted in the Illustrated London News on 9 September 1911 as item no. 5 of 'Coronation Gifts to His Majesty from Emperor Menelik of Abyssinia'. Described as 'Costumes decorated with embroidery, worn by High Officials (on either side).'

Alternatively, they may have been presented to Queen Mary by the Abyssinian delegation to Britain in 1919.

When loaned by the King to the British Museum that year, they were recorded in the loans-in register as: '1919,7-19. HM the Queen. Dresses presented by the ? from Abyssinia...silk shawl'. 

A delegation had come to Britain on behalf of the Empress and Ras Tafari (later Haile Selassie I) to congratulate the King and Government on victory in the First World War. Delegations simultaneously travelled to Italy, France and the United States; according to the French press, the wife of the President, Madame Poincaré, received 'an Ethiopian woman's dress'. Given the similarity between the gifts presented to each nations, it is likely that Queen Mary likewise received an assortment of Abyssinian clothing from the delegation.