The crown on the discussion is from Ethiopia. It is said to have a religious significance due to its depictions. It has been lost for 21 years from a religious church till now when it is recovered by the Ethiopian government.
Sirak Asfaw is the man who enlightened people about this crown. He left his home country in 1978 to escape the Derg which came to power in 1974. His country had too much violence whereby many people died forcing other people to flee.
All About The Crown
He had a flat in Rotterdam where other refugees including his friends stayed with him. It was during this occasion in 1998 whereby one of the visitors left a bag that had the crown in it. The man was confronted by Sirak and suggested the crown to be returned home and if so not, it was not leaving that place. He says,
“Most people don’t care about this cultural heritage. I’m loyal to Ethiopia,”
Asfaw needed help with returning the crown to Ethiopia. he went through media and internet but his efforts were proven futile and so he decided to keep it safe from the Dutch authorities who would confiscate it knowing of its existence. However, in 2018 Mr. Sirak felt it was the right time to return the precious artifact to Addis Ababa after Abiy came in power.
He was able to contact Arthur Brand, known as the “Indiana Jones of the art world”, to help him return the piece of the artifact at home. With the approval of the Dutch police, Mr. Brand decided to announce it publicly since he saw it as the best option available.
Later on, the Ethiopian government got in touch with the Dutch in charge to organize the safe home return of the piece. Mr. Sirak says that the crown should be highly respected and valued since it’s a symbol of unity to the Africans and Ethiopians as well.
Some Of Africa’s Stolen Treasures And The Foreign Countries Promise To Return The Looted African Artifacts
During the colonial era, a lot of precious artifacts were stolen and taken to Europe. However, the African countries demand the return of their properties to the continent. France says that she wants her museums to stop holding back Africans cultural heritage.
Examples of some precious artifacts are the Rosetta Stone, Bangwa Queen, Man-eaters of Tsavo, Maqdala treasures and the Zimbabwean bird.
In the case of Man-eaters of Tsavo, it was about 2 infamous lions that ate laborers who were building the railway line between Mombasa and Lake Victoria during the British reign in Kenya.
The two lions were shot dead finally by Colonel John Patterson who was a British engineer Lieutenant. The dead lions were later purchased from John in 1925 by the Field Museum of Natural History located in the United States. The Kenya National Museum wants the lions returned since they are a part of our cultural heritage collection.
More:
