Kamis thumbnail 1
Kamis thumbnail 2
+5
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

This object, or the text that describes it, is deemed offensive and discriminatory. We are committed to improving our records, and work is ongoing.


Kamis

Kamis
1830-1868 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This Ethiopian kamis (dress) belonged to Queen Terunesh, or Empress Tiruwork Wube, the second wife of Emperor Tewodros II and the mother of Prince Alemayehu. The Queen died about a month after the 1868 siege of Maqdala (Magdala), while being escorted by the British army to her home province. Her possessions were then sent to England, to the Secretary of State for India, who gave this garment to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1869. Items looted during the siege were also given to the Museum.

The kamis is made from two layers of soft cotton decorated with silk embroidery in red, yellow, black and green.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleKamis
Materials and techniques
Cotton, silk, chain stitch
Brief description
Kamis (dress), cotton embroidered with silk, Ethiopia, 1830-1868
Physical description
Kamis (dress) made from two layers of soft cotton decorated with silk embroidery in red, yellow, black and green.
Dimensions
  • Length: 49in
  • Sleeve to sleeve width: 62in
Dimensions taken from paper records
Gallery label
NB this historic label text includes terminology that has fallen from usage and is now considered offensive, repeated in this record in its original historical context. Historic label text, date unknown: 'Robe, with sleeves, of linen, woven with stripes, and embroidered round the neck and at the cuffs with red, yellow, black, and green silks, chiefly in chain stitch. The pattern consists of successive bands of primitive ornament, between some of which are chequered panels, panels with chevrons, occasional rows of ?veiled women heads, balanced rude scroll arrangements, &c.; edged with a necklace device, beyong which is an open arrangement of circles and floriated slender crosses. Abyssinian. 19th century. L. 4ft 1in. W., from sleeve to sleeve, 5ft. 2in. Given by the Secretary of State for India. / This robe formerly belonged to the Queen of Abyssinia.' [Text - from catalogue? - pasted into accessions register.]
Credit line
Given by the Secretary of State for India
Object history
This Ethiopian kamis (dress) belonged to Queen Terunesh, or Empress Tiruwork Wube, the second wife of Emperor Tewodros II and the mother of Prince Alemayehu. The Queen died about a month after the 1868 siege of Maqdala (Magdala), while being escorted by the British army to her home province. Her possessions were then sent to England, to the Secretary of State for India, who gave this garment to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1869. Items looted during the siege were also given to the Museum.



NB this accession register entry includes terminology that has fallen from usage and is now considered offensive, repeated in this record in its original historical context.

Historic entry in accessions register, April 28th 1869: 'Robe, with sleeves. Silk and cotton, white, with embroidery of coloured silks in Oriental patterns on body and sleeves; belonging formerly to the Queen of Abyssinia. Abyssinian. L. 4ft 1in. W. from sleeve to sleeve 5ft 2in. / April 28th 1869 / Given by the Secretary of State for India.'

See 'Set of Articles of Deceased Queen of Abyssinia' and related correspondence in British Library collections at IOR R/20/AIA/503. Anklets do not appear on this list.
Association
Summary
This Ethiopian kamis (dress) belonged to Queen Terunesh, or Empress Tiruwork Wube, the second wife of Emperor Tewodros II and the mother of Prince Alemayehu. The Queen died about a month after the 1868 siege of Maqdala (Magdala), while being escorted by the British army to her home province. Her possessions were then sent to England, to the Secretary of State for India, who gave this garment to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1869. Items looted during the siege were also given to the Museum.

The kamis is made from two layers of soft cotton decorated with silk embroidery in red, yellow, black and green.
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Crill, Rosemary, Jennifer Wearden and Verity Wilson. Dress in Detail from Around the World. London: V&A Publications, 2002. 224 p., ill. ISBN 09781851773787. p. 36.
  • Robe featured in V&A web theme 'Treasures from Ethiopia' http://web.archive.org/web/20221208151459/http://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/periods_styles/hiddenhistories/ethiopia_treasures/index.html
  • N. Stylianou, Producing and Collecting for Empire: African Textiles in the V&A 1852- 2000, PhD Thesis, 2012
  • Nicola Stylianou, The Empress's Old Clothes: Biographies of African Dress at the Victoria and Albert Museum, in: Dress History: New Directions in Theory and Practice (eds. Charlotte Nicklas and Annebella Pollen), London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2015, pp. 81-96
Collection
Accession number
400-1869

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdJanuary 9, 2008
Record URL
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest