Returning Ethiopian Heritage

In 1868, British forces looted hundreds of sacred and culturally significant objects from Ethiopia during the Battle of Maqdala. For generations, these treasures – many central to Ethiopian religious and cultural identity – were scattered across British institutions and private collections.

The Scheherazade Foundation has been at the forefront of efforts to return these stolen items to the Ethiopian people and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. In 2021 and 2023, we hosted two landmark repatriation ceremonies at the Athenaeum Club in London, during which profoundly important pieces of Ethiopian heritage were formally returned. Among them was a tabot – a highly sacred altar tablet considered the spiritual heart of any Ethiopian Orthodox church.

The events drew wide attention and were attended by leading figures including Lord Boateng, poet Lemn Sissay, and film director Franc Roddam. They were covered extensively by the BBC, the Daily Telegraph, The Art Newspaper, Al Jazeera, and the Ethiopian press, and helped spark a wider debate in the British House of Lords regarding the continued retention of eleven tabots in the archives of the British Museum.

The Scheherazade Foundation continues to campaign actively for the return of these sacred tabots, advocating for ethical repatriation and a respectful reconnection with Ethiopia’s enduring cultural legacy.