Ethiopian resistance hero’s family tries to reclaim medal taken by Italian troops
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Ras Desta Damtew’s solid gold Imperial Order of the Star of Ethopia failed to sell on auction site this month. The descendants of a hero of Ethiopia’s resistance against European imperialism are seeking to retrieve a gold medal taken from him by Italian troops, after the artefact’s current holder failed to sell it at an online auction earlier this month.
![[Ras Desta Damtew pictured after his capture In 1937.]](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/29b8053c4131abe21d52432815d43af00dca2455/0_312_4553_2732/master/4553.jpg?width=445&dpr=1&s=none&crop=none)
The solid gold Imperial Order of the Star of Ethiopia used to be in the possession of Ras Desta Damtew, a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie and a guerrilla army commander whose capture and execution in 1937 spelled the end of Ethiopia’s resistance to fascist Italy’s occupation.
Its whereabouts were unknown until this November, when the star-shaped brooch resurfaced on the online platform LiveAuctioneers, where it was offered for sale for an estimated €60,000-90,000 (£50,000-£74,000) by the Lausanne-registered company La Galerie Numismatique.
The website’s listing did not hide the item’s controversial provenance, describing it as coming “from the estate of an Italian soldier who was present at the capture of the prince [Desta Damtew]”. “My first feeling was anger that they were so blatantly claiming to have taken it from someone who was executed,” said Laly Kassa, one of Desta Damtew’s granddaughters. “This one was so egregious that we just felt like as a family, we had to prove something.”.
The family’s lawyer Chris Marinello, an art restitution expert and founder of Art Recovery International, is working for them pro bono. They say said that when Marinello approached La Galerie Numismatique, it initially rebuffed the restitution request, offering to sell the medal for €61,595, including a buyer’s premium and VAT.
