Gold chalice with incised inscription, made by Walda Giyorgis, Gondar, Ethiopia, 1732-1740

Gold chalice with a slightly domed and tiered circular foot. The trumpet shaped stem with three knops separated by embossed floral bands. The stem is surmounted by a wide cup with a flat rim. Under the rim of the chalice is an incised dedicatory inscription.

This sold gold chalice and a gold crown (M.27-2005) are among some of the most famous Ethiopian objects brought to Britain as a result of the 1867-8 British Expedition to Ethiopia, a pivotal episode in both British and Ethiopian history that culminated in the death of Emperor Tewodros II, the destruction of his fortress at Maqdala, and the looting of vast quantities of Ethiopian material culture by the British Army.

The inscriptions on this chalice tells us that it was made by a goldsmith named Walda Giyorgis, and given to the Church of Our Lady of Qwesqwam, near Gondar, Ethiopia. The crown and chalice were gifts to the church from the Ethiopian Emperor Iyyasu II (who ruled from 1730 to 1755), and his mother Empress Mentewwab.

During the reign of Emperor Tewodros II, the crown and chalice were brought to Tewodros’ fortress at Maqdala, in the country’s northern highlands, as part of the Emperor’s efforts to establish a treasury and church there. Tewodros had seized objects from other Ethiopian towns and churches during his military campaigns, particularly in Gondar, for this purpose.

In 1863, Tewodros took hostage around thirty European diplomats and missionaries stationed in Ethiopia. He took this action after letters he had written to Queen Victoria in 1857 and 1862, requesting military assistance from Britain, had gone unanswered. Following failed diplomatic attempts to secure the release of the hostages, a large-scale British military expedition was launched from Bombay in October 1867. The expedition was led by General Sir Charles Robert Napier, and comprised around 12,000 British and Indian troops.

The expedition reached Maqdala in April 1868, where the British army quickly overwhelmed the Ethiopian troops with enormous firepower. On 13 April, Napier’s forces launched the final attack on Maqdala that saw Tewodros’ armies entirely defeated. The Emperor took his own life.

The British Army then proceeded to ransack the fortress and the surrounding area, where they found many Ethiopian manuscripts, sacred objects and other valuable items. The loot from Maqdala was transported to the Talanta Plain around ten miles away, where the army’s ‘prize’ auction took place a week later.

One bidder at the auction was Richard Rivington Holmes, an assistant curator at the British Museum. Holmes had been sent to accompany the expedition to acquire objects for the museum’s collection. Holmes hoped to acquire the crown and chalice for his employer. However, a prolonged disagreement ensued about whether the treasures would be purchased from the army by the UK government. This led to a parliamentary debate in 1871, where British Prime Minister William Gladstone argued that the objects should never have been taken from Ethiopia.

The crown and chalice were eventually deposited at the South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) by H.M. Treasury in 1872.

This chalice comes from the Ethiopian Orthodox church and was used for the consecration of the wine. An inscription records that it was given to the church of Qwesqwam by King Iyyasu II (ruled 1730-55) and his mother Empress Mentewwab. It reads, 'This is the chalice of our King Iyyasu, whose throne name is Adyam Saggad, and of our Empress Walatta Giyorgis, Berhan Mogasa, which they gave to the tabot of Quesqwam so that it might be for them salvation of body and soul'. A gold crown, also in the V&A collection (M.27-2005), was probably given to the church at the same time. The crown and chalice were looted by British troops following the destruction of Maqdala (Magdala) by the British Army in April 1868. They were deposited at the South Kensington Museum (later renamed the Victoria and Albert Museum) by H.M. Treasury in 1872.

M.26-2005