British Collecting in Ethiopia 1769 to 1960: Explorers, Missionaries, Military Expeditions, and Royal Gifting

在更广泛的英国背景下，埃塞俄比亚和苏格兰有着悠久但未被充分探索的共同历史。从1770年苏格兰探险家兼收藏家詹姆斯·布鲁斯（James Bruce of Kinnaird）第一个抵达埃塞俄比亚，到英国对马达拉（Maqdala）的惩罚性军事远征（1867-1868年），其中包括喀麦隆苏格兰步枪，再到二战期间将埃塞俄比亚从意大利占领下解放出来的联合使命，英国几乎一直与埃塞俄比亚保持着联系。物体是阐明这种关系的重要来源。探险家、传教士、外交官和军事探险队收集了埃塞俄比亚的物品，而埃塞俄比亚统治者自19世纪初以来就把埃塞俄比亚的王室徽章送给了英国皇室。获得和展示这些物品可以代表统治，促进外交关系，或展示文化知识。政治变化和人类学的发展塑造了收集和展示的背景，改变了参与其中的人员和他们的动机。NMS收集的243件埃塞俄比亚物品，包括1770年的第一次探险和1867- 1868年对抹大拉的惩罚性探险，为分析在激进的政治和行政变革时期与埃塞俄比亚文化接触的变化模式提供了丰富的原始资料，但他们收集的历史以前没有被研究过。NMS的藏品与英国的其他藏品一起，代表了埃塞俄比亚以外最重要的埃塞俄比亚文化遗产组合之一。来自东非和亚洲的殖民历史收藏者越来越多。然而，英国在埃塞俄比亚的收藏仍未被探索，因为埃塞俄比亚没有被殖民，因此很少出现在英国帝国历史上。这个项目提供了一个在非殖民背景下比较评估英国殖民时代收藏的机会。除了NMS自己的档案外，我的研究还将利用大英图书馆的陆军部档案，议会档案，以及远征阿比西尼亚后发表的相关记录和账目，以了解这些收购背后的军事背景。我还将重点介绍苏格兰战争艺术家和记者威廉·辛普森——他本人是埃塞俄比亚物品的狂热收藏家——通过检查他多产的日记和速写本，来阐明NMS收藏的物品。我的研究将把马达拉的事件置于英国在埃塞俄比亚的收藏的更广泛的背景下。这项研究将利用YCBA持有的詹姆斯·布鲁斯档案等资源，以阐明现在由NMS持有的布鲁斯藏品背后的历史。我也会努力寻找尽可能多的埃塞俄比亚原始材料，并与埃塞俄比亚艺术的当代收藏家和经销商联系，更多地了解当今英国收集埃塞俄比亚艺术的当代实践。虽然文献证据将成为本研究的重点，但在我的研究中，我将首先考虑对象。我将尽可能仔细地研究NMS的藏品，并将其置于埃塞俄比亚艺术史的更广泛背景下。我还将研究这些文物抵达爱丁堡后发生了什么，绘制出它们的储存、展示和人们对它们的反应的历史。我将研究这些年来在NMS的画廊和展览中出现的对象，以及在此期间它们被展示和解释的方式。通过这个项目，我希望能帮助人们对NMS的埃塞俄比亚藏品有一个新的认识，并帮助博物馆的同事们开发新的流程和最佳实践，来研究、解释和照顾这些重要而迷人的藏品。

Ethiopia and Scotland, within a wider British context, have an extended, but underexplored, shared history. From the arrival of the first British person in Ethiopia, the Scottish explorer and collector James Bruce of Kinnaird in 1770, to the British military punitive expedition to Maqdala (1867-1868), which included the Cameronian Scottish Rifles, to the joint mission to free Ethiopia from Italian occupation during WWII, Britain has had a near-continuous Ethiopian presence. Objects are vital sources for illuminating this relationship. Explorers, missionaries, diplomats, and military expeditions collected Ethiopian objects, while Ethiopian rulers have gifted British royalty Ethiopian royal regalia since the early 19th century. Acquisition and display of these objects could represent domination, facilitate diplomatic relations, or demonstrate cultural knowledge. Political changes, and the development of anthropology, shaped the context of collecting and display, altering the personnel involved and their motivations.The NMS collection of 243 Ethiopian objects, including those from the first exploration in 1770 and the punitive expedition to Magdala in 1867-8, afford rich primary sources for analysing shifting patterns of engagement with Ethiopian culture over a period of radical political and administrative change, but the history of their collection has not been studied before. The NMS collection, together with other collections in the UK, represents one of the most significant assemblages of Ethiopian cultural heritage outside of Ethiopia. There is a growing body of colonial collecting histories from east Africa and in Asia. However, British collecting in Ethiopia remains unexplored because Ethiopia wasn't colonised and thus rarely figures in British imperial histories. This project presents an opportunity to comparatively assess British colonial era collecting in a non-colonial setting.'As well as NMS's own archives, my research will draw upon the War Office Archive at the British Library, the Hansard parliamentary archive, and the associated records and accounts published following the Expedition to Abyssinia, in order to understand the military context behind many of these acquisitions. I will also focus on the Scottish war artist and correspondent William Simpson - himself a keen collector of Ethiopian objects - examining his prolific diaries and sketchbooks to shed light on the objects in the NMS collection.My research will situation the events at Maqdala within the wider context of British collecting in Ethiopia. This research will draw upon resources such as the the James Bruce archive held by the YCBA, in order to illuminate the history behind the objects from Bruce's collection which are now held by NMS. I will also strive to find as much Ethiopian source material as possible, and I will liaise with contemporary collectors and dealers of Ethiopian art to understand more about the contemporary practice of collecting Ethiopian art in the UK today.While documentary evidence will form a key focus of this studentship, I will consider the objects first and foremost in my research. I will study the collection at NMS as closely as possible and situate it within the broader context of Ethiopian art history. I will also carry out research into what has happened to the objects since their arrival in Edinburgh, charting the history of their storage, display, and the responses to them. I will examine which objects have appeared in NMS's galleries and exhibitions over the years, and the ways in which they have been displayed and interpreted during this time.Through this project I hope to help shine a new light on NMS's Ethiopian collections and help colleagues at the museum to develop new processes and best-practices for studying, interpreting and caring for these important and fascinating collections.