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Dejátch Álámáyou
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 - Enlarge image
Dejátch Álámáyou
- Object:
Photograph
- Place of origin:
Isle of Wight, England (photographed)
- Date:
July 1868 (photographed)
- Artist/Maker:
Julia Margaret Cameron, born 1815 - died 1879 (photographer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Albumen print from wet collodion glass negative
- Credit Line:
Gift of Miss Perrin, 1939
- Museum number:
24-1939
- Gallery location:
Prints & Drawings Study Room, level H, case x, shelf 311, box E
Prince Alamayou (1861-1879) was the orphaned son of the Ethiopian emperor Tewodros II (Theodore) and his second wife, Queen Woyzaro Terunesh. Tewodros committed suicide just before British forces captured his fortress at Magdala in April 1868. The Queen died the same year whilst being escorted to her native province of Semyen. On her request the Prince was brought to England under the guardianship of Captain Speedy, an army officer who had spent time in Abyssinia and spoke Amharic. Speedy took Alamayou to the Isle of Wight where he was introduced to Queen Victoria, whose family spent summers on the island. The Prince made a strong impression on Victoria and, with her support, received an English education. His death of pleurisy at the age of eighteen was described by the Queen as ‘too sad’.
Julia Margaret Cameron took this photograph during one of Alámayou’s visits to Queen Victoria at Osborne House, Isle of Wight, in 1868. Probably responding to public interest in the orphan African prince, Cameron has presented her subject as a melancholy and romantic figure. The photograph was initially printed in large format but was reproduced in the form of cabinet cards and cartes de visite.
