{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O144722"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O144722/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2016JE1757/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2016JE1757/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2016JE1757","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JE1758","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JE1759","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2016JE1760","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HV9920","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HV9919","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2015HV9921","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O144722/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O144722","accessionNumber":"1098-1905","objectType":"Cross","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"Crosses have always played an important role in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as symbols of resurrection and life. 'Hand' or 'blessing' crosses ('yaedj masqal' or 'yaburake masqal') like this one represent the office of an ordained priest, and are his personal possession. They are used by him to bless believers at any place and at any time. The distinctive shape of these crosses arguably symbolises the connection made in the New Testament Book of Romans between Adam (the first man, who brought sin to all mankind), and Christ (whose sacrifice on the cross redeems all mankind). The rectangular base of the hand-cross would therefore represent Adam's tomb, on which the cross of Christ was said to have been planted. It has also been suggested that the rectangular base is a reference to the form of the chest which contained the stone tablets of the law given by God to Moses, the Ark of the Covenant. \n\nThis cross was in the collection of the artist and journalist William Simpson, who engraved on it his name, the year he acquired it ('1868'), and the identifying inscription, ‘Abyssinian Cross’. Simpson was a watercolour artist and journalist who was sent by the <i>Illustrated London News </i>to cover the British expedition to Ethiopia in 1868.\n\nSimpson arrived too late to witness the single week of military action at Arogee and Maqdala in April 1868; instead, he produced sketches and illustrations of Ethiopia and its people which were a key part of the visual representation of the conflict and the country. On his return to England, he published additional articles on the architecture and traditions of the Ethiopian Church. His observations included a discussion of the different types of cross in the Ethiopian Church, and he described how he witnessed an Ethiopian priest on Palm Sunday hold a small hand cross over the book of service as he read aloud. He may have acquired this cross at Chelicut, where he purchased another cross made from brass (1099-1905) from a priest. Simpson died in 1899, and in 1905 his widow presented the two crosses, and portfolios of Simpson’s artwork from India together with his scrap-book on crosses and their symbolism, to the V&amp;A.\n","physicalDescription":"Hand cross of iron. Handle terminating in a square tablet, which bears the inscription, ABYSSINIAN CROSS 1868. The cross is inscribed WILLIAM SIMPSON.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"iron","id":"AAT11002"}],"techniques":[],"materialsAndTechniques":"Iron","categories":[{"text":"Africa","id":"THES49019"},{"text":"Christianity","id":"THES48978"},{"text":"Metalwork","id":"THES48920"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"MET","id":"THES48599"},"images":["2016JE1757","2016JE1758","2016JE1759","2016JE1760","2015HV9920","2015HV9919","2015HV9921"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"022","id":"THES407956"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Cross","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Ethiopia","id":"x35090"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"before 1868","earliest":null,"latest":"1867-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[{"object":{"text":"1099-1905","id":"O108488"},"association":""}],"creditLine":"Given by Mrs M.E. Simpson","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"13.7","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"(at widest point)","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"The base of the handle carries the text 'Abyssinian Cross 1868' and the cross 'WILLIAM SIMPSON\"","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":""}],"objectHistory":"<u>Provenance</u>: Acquired by William Simpson in Ethiopia, 1868 (possibly purchased from a church at Chelicut, May 1868); given to the V&amp;A by Mrs Maria Simpson, 18 November 1905.\n\nThis cross is one of two in the V&amp;A collection acquired in Ethiopia by the artist and journalist William Simpson, who was sent on behalf of the <i>Illustrated London News</i> to provide sketches for the newspaper's coverage of the 1867-8 British Expedition to Ethiopia. This was a pivotal episode in both British and Ethiopian history that culminated in the death of Emperor Tewodros II (often referred to in Britain as 'Theodore'), the destruction of his fortress at Maqdala, and the looting of vast quantities of Ethiopian material culture by the British Army.\n\nSimpson did not travel on the outward expedition, and joined the army around a week after the looting of Maqdala in April 1868. He then accompanied the army on the return march to Britain. He produced sketches and illustrations of Ethiopia and its people which were a key part of the visual representation of the conflict and the country. \n\nThe museum's accession register record this cross as being 'from Chelikut', suggesting that it may have been acquired by Simpson at the same time as a brass cross in the V&amp;A collection (1099-1905) known to have been purchased from a church at Chelicut.\n\nSimpson died in 1899, and on 18 November 1905 the two crosses were presented to the Museum by his widow, Mrs Maria Eliza Simpson [née Burt] of Birsay, Wellington Road, Hatch End, Middlesex. The Museum register describes this cross as a 'Hand cross of iron. From Chelikut, a cross flory, the handle terminating in a square tablet, which bears the  inscription, ABYSSINIAN CROSS 1868. The cross is inscribed WILLIAM SIMPSON. Abyssinian; dated 1868.'\n\nAs well as the two crosses, Mrs Simpson also presented portfolios of Simpson’s artwork from India together with his scrap-book on crosses and their symbolism, to the V&amp;A.","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Hand cross of iron, Ethiopia, before 1868.","bibliographicReferences":[{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Feleke, memhir Daniel Seifemichael. 'Crosses'. In: <u>Ethiopian Church: Treasures & Faith</u>. Paris: Archange minotaure, 2009, pp. 73-77. ISBN 9782354630447"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Delia Millar, ‘Simpson, William (1823–1899)’, <u>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</u>, Oxford University Press, 2004,\n\nhttp://web.archive.org/web/20221215144208/https://www.oxforddnb.com/%20view/article/25597"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Pankhurst, Richard, ed. <u>Diary of a Journey to Abyssinia, 1868, with the expedition under Sir Robert Napier, K.C.S.I.: The Diary and Observations of William Simpson of the</u><u> <i>Illustrated London News</i></u>. (Based on the manuscript in the collection of Jean S. and Frederic A. Sharf, Chestnut Hill, Mass., USA). Hollywood, CA: Tsehai Publishers, 2002. ISBN 097231721x"},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Moore, Eine. 'Ethiopian Crosses from the 12th to the 16th Centuries'. In: <u>Proceedings of the First International Conference on the History of Ethiopian Art. Warburg Institute of the University of Londo</u><u>n, October 21 and 22, 1986</u>. London: Pindar Press, 1989, pp. 110-114. ISBN 0907132510."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hecht, Elisabeth-Dorothea. 'The Hand-Cross Collection of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies Museum: A Project Report'. In: <u>Proceedings of the First International Conference on the History  of Ethiopian Art. Warburg Institute of the University of London,  October 21 and 22, 1986</u>. London: Pindar Press, 1989, pp. 115-120.  ISBN 0907132510."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Hecht, Elisabeth-Dorothea, with Brigitta Benzing and Girma Kidane, <u>The hand crosses of the IES collection</u>. Addis Ababa: Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University, 1990."},{"reference":{"text":"","id":""},"details":"","free":"Watson Jones, Alexandra, “British Collecting in Ethiopia, 1769 to 1972: Travellers, Military Expeditions, Museums and Royal Gifting ” (PhD thesis, University of St Andrews, 2024), https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/handle/10023/29946, 155-168"}],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[{"text":"1867-8 British Expedition to Ethiopia (1/10/1867 - 13/5/1868)","id":"AUTH407033"}],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"<i>Maqdala 1868 </i>display, 5 April 2018 - 30 June 2019\r\n\r\nHand crosses\r\nየእጅ መስቀሎች\n\r\nEthiopian priests carry hand crosses like these and offer them to worshippers to kiss as a sign of devotion. Two of these examples were collected in Ethiopia by Captain Tristram Speedy, a British Army officer who was later appointed guardian to Emperor Tewodros’s orphaned son, Prince Alemayehu. The others were purchased by William Simpson, a war artist who provided sketches of the campaign for the Illustrated London News, as a souvenir during the army’s return journey to England.\n\r\nHand cross የእጅ መስቀል\r\nMade in Ethiopia, before 1868\r\nIron\r\nGiven by Mrs M.E. Simpson\r\nMuseum no. 1098-1905\n\n<i>Owned and used by every Orthodox Christian priest to date, it gives me great pride and pleasure knowing the Ethiopian Orthodox Christians have been able to retain their heritage. The unique design of the cross from northern Ethiopia is greatly integrated throughout Ethiopian culture.</i>\n\r\n- Samuel Berhanu, artist and member of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church\n","date":{"text":"5 April 2018 - 30 June 2019","earliest":"2018-04-05","latest":"2019-06-30"}}],"partNumbers":["1098-1905"],"accessionNumberNum":"1098","accessionNumberPrefix":"","accessionYear":1905,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-02-12","recordCreationDate":"2008-02-07","availableToBook":true}}