indah-permata
A sacred eighteenth-century Ethiopian manuscript pillaged by British troops in the nineteenth century has resurfaced in a commercial sales catalogue, igniting an intense ownership battle between Ethiopian cultural authorities and a European antiquities dealer.
The illuminated religious text, known as the Gondarine Gospel, was recently listed for sale at a price of $250,000 by Inlibris, a Vienna-based rare book dealership. The volume was advertised among valuable works slated for presentation at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, marking its public re-emergence nearly 160 years after being seized from an Ethiopian monarch.
Upon learning of the listing, cultural officials in Addis Ababa intervened, requesting the immediate withdrawal of the sacred item and appealing for its unconditional repatriation on ethical grounds. The dispute has underscored growing demands from African governments for the return of national heritage plundered during military expeditions in the colonial era.
Abebaw Ayalew, the director of the Ethiopian Heritage Authority, pressed the Austrian dealer directly, arguing in a formal communication that modern commercial enterprises have a duty to avoid profiting from historical plunder. Ayalew stressed that facilitating the trade of items documented as war loot raises severe ethical concerns and poses significant reputational damage to established book sellers.
In response, Inlibris rejected the request to surrender the artifact, contending that there is no existing legal framework obligating its restitution. The dealership maintained that because international statutes prohibiting the seizure of cultural items during armed conflict did not exist prior to the eighteenth century, the current private owner maintains lawful possession.
The head of Inlibris, Hugo Wertscherk, defended the firm's position, asserting that handing over the manuscript without the owner's authorization would constitute an illegal act. While stating that he personally sympathizes with calls to return historical items to their points of origin, Wertscherk emphasized his role as a commercial intermediary governed strictly by property legislation.
Addressing the controversy surrounding the Abu Dhabi event, Wertscherk denied that the dealership had actively attempted to offload the gospel at the fair, claiming the item had been included in the promotional material solely as a display prop. He added that while communications from Ethiopian officials had felt combative, the dealership remains willing to explore an institutional purchase at a preferential rate, provided the private owner gives consent.
The disputed volume is an exceptional example of Ethiopian craftsmanship, featuring a polished leather binding embellished with intricate gilded motifs. It is scribed entirely in Ge'ez, an ancient South Semitic liturgical language that has formed the backbone of Ethiopian Christian scholarship for centuries.
Comprising 235 richly rendered illustrations narrating the biblical books of Luke and John, the manuscript is celebrated for its dynamic imagery executed in vibrant palettes of yellow, red, and green. Scholarly estimates indicate that the royal scripture was commissioned between 1730 and 1734 in the imperial city of Gondar, a major center of historical art and architecture.
Abreha Kiros, an art history scholar at Aksum University, emphasized that the gospel's historical importance extends well beyond its initial royal ownership. Kiros noted that the manuscript serves as an indispensable record for understanding regional artistic traditions, Ge'ez literature, and early bookmaking techniques, while standing as an enduring symbol of a tragic turning point in Ethiopian history.
The text was once housed in the extensive royal library assembled by Emperor Tewodros II, who governed Ethiopia from 1855 until his death in 1868. Regarded by several historians as the foundation of Ethiopia's first modern museum, the monarch's repository held hundreds of sacred and secular manuscripts gathered during his unification campaigns.
The emperor's reign unraveled in the late 1860s amid regional instability caused by the expansion of the Ottoman Empire and challenges from domestic rivals. Seeking an alliance, Tewodros sent a diplomatic letter to Queen Victoria appealing for military cooperation between the two Christian realms; when his dispatch received no reply, he detained British envoys to force a response.
The diplomatic standoff led to an armed expedition on April 9, 1868, when 13,000 soldiers dispatched from British-administered India attacked the imperial stronghold at Magdala. Tewodros's force of 4,000 soldiers was defeated, and the emperor committed suicide with a pistol rather than surrender to the invading troops.
In the aftermath of the battle, British forces led by Commander Robert Napier thoroughly sacked Magdala, hauling away immense quantities of royal treasures, sacred texts, and personal belongings. Napier took possession of the Gondarine Gospel, which subsequently circulated among British colonial officers and public institutions before entering the private market approximately a decade ago.
The clash over the gospel comes amid mounting pressure on Western collectors and museums to address hundreds of thousands of African artifacts taken during military interventions. While countries such as Britain, Germany, Belgium, and France have gradually engaged in permanent repatriations or long-term lending agreements—including Britain's recent return of hair clippings and cloth associated with Emperor Tewodros—the ultimate fate of the Magdala gospel remains caught in a legal and moral deadlock.
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