The collection included crowns, shields and paintings, all considered culturally and historically significant in Ethiopia.
Professor Ramon Wyss, whose father was born during the family’s diplomatic posting in Ethiopia, handed over the items at a ceremony attended by Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa.
Courtesy Ministry of Tourism Ethiopia
Professor Wyss said the family’s intention to return the artefacts was to “share their beauty with the public and preserve the culture and history connected to my father’s birth”.
During colonial rule in Africa, thousands of cultural artefacts were plundered.
The call by African countries for the return of looted items has been met with some success in recent years – though some items are only on loan.
The objects were handed over to Tourism Minister Selamawit Kassa and will be kept in the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University.
The German Embassy in Addis Ababa organized the return in partnership with the Institute of Ethiopian Studies.
An exhibition titled “Ethiopia in the 1920s through the eyes of a German diplomat” is scheduled to open at the Goethe-Institut on November 20, featuring 51 photographs from the private collection of Fritz and Hedwig Weiss.
