{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O1028799"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1028799/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KE6600/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2017KE6600/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2017KE6600","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O1028799","accessionNumber":"E.264-1947","objectType":"Painting","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"parchment","id":"AAT11851"},{"text":"oil colour","id":"AAT15050"}],"techniques":[{"text":"drawing","id":"x32498"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"","categories":[],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"PDP","id":"THES48595"},"images":["2017KE6600"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"LVLH (VA)","id":"THES49654"},"free":"","case":"PD","shelf":"295","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"drawings","id":"AAT33973"}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Ethiopia","id":"x35090"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"c.1942","earliest":"1937-01-01","latest":"1946-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Mr D. Molesworth","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"8.5","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"1947","earliest":"1947-01-01","latest":"1947-12-31"},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"12.5","unit":"in","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"1947","earliest":"1947-01-01","latest":"1947-12-31"},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"<u>Provenance:</u> Acquired (probably commissioned from an Ethiopian artist) in Ethiopia by Hender Delves Molesworth, around 1942; given to the V&amp;A by Molesworth in 1947.\n\nMr. Hender Delves Molesworth gifted this painting to the V&A in 1947. It depicts the Battle of Adwa on 1 and 2 March 1896, at which Ethiopian troops led by Emperor Menelik II successfully repelled an Italian invasion.\n\r\nMolesworth donated this painting along with six others. The museum’s accession register describes the group as “scenes (7) of fighting etc. in Abyssinia between Allied and Italian troops, during the Second World War, 1939–45. Abyssinian, c.1942.” (Abyssinia was a term historically used outside Ethiopia to refer to the country.) Subsequent research, however, suggests that while some paintings in the group depict conflicts associated with the Italo-Ethiopian War, others represent Ethiopian battle scenes dating from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century.\n\r\nHender Delves Molesworth (1907–1978) was Keeper of the Department of Sculpture at the V&A from 1946 to 1954, and later Keeper of the Department of Woodwork until 1966. Earlier in his career, he served as Curator of the Institute of Jamaica in Kingston from 1936 to 1938. During the Second World War, he worked for the Ministry of Information and later spent three years as press attaché to the British Legation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He is likely to have acquired this group of paintings during this period. In a 1957 publication, Molesworth described his experience of commissioning paintings in Ethiopia, suggesting that this group may have been produced at his request.\n\nEmperor Menelik II is depicted on the left-hand side of the painting, wearing the characteristic wide-brimmed hat in which he was often photographed during his reign. He is accompanied by an entourage that includes a priest of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, carrying a covered <i>tabot </i>(a sacred altar tablet) above his head. Below is Empress Taitu Betul, wife of the Emperor, depicted on horseback and carrying a revolver. Saint George, Patron Saint of Ethiopia, is depicted above the battle scene. The composition of this painting is very similar to other famous depictions of Adwa, including an example in the British Museum (Museum no. Af1974,11.34).\r\n\r\nThe acquisition information for this object was updated following a 2025 provenance research project on the V&A’s Ethiopian collections.\r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Painting depicting the Battle of Adwa. Oil on parchment. Ethiopia, around 1942.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"<u>Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings, Accessions 1947</u>, London: HMSO, 1950."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Molesworth, H. D. “Painting in Ethiopia: A Reflection of Medieval Practice”. In Fritz Saxl, 1890-1948: A Volume of Memorial Essays from his Friends in England, edited by D. J. Gordon, 359-369. London: Thomas Nelson and Sons Ltd, 1957. "},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hellman, Geoffrey T. “Keeper of Woodwork.” The New Yorker, April 22, 1961, p. 33."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Molly Judd, \"Researching the provenance of the V&A’s Ethiopian objects\" (V&A Blog), 14 January 2026. https://www.vam.ac.uk/blog/museum-life/researching-the-provenance-of-the-vas-ethiopian-objects"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["E.264-1947"],"accessionNumberNum":"264","accessionNumberPrefix":"E","accessionYear":1947,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-03-12","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-30","availableToBook":false}}