The descendants of Ethiopian military commander Ras Desta Damtew are fighting to recover his stolen gold star medal, which recently appeared in an online auction by La Galerie Numismatique. Listed with a provenance linking it to an Italian soldier involved in Desta Damtew’s execution during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War, the medal carries an estimated value of €60,000-€90,000.
Ras Desta Damtew, described in a 1937 obituary as “the most able of the great Ethiopian Rases,” was a key figure in Ethiopia’s resistance against Mussolini’s invasion. Despite Emperor Haile Selassie’s exile, Desta Damtew continued leading forces on Ethiopia’s southern front. Captured and executed by Italian troops in 1937, his medal was allegedly taken from his body and remained in private collections before surfacing at auction.
The sale provoked outrage among his descendants. “It’s literally a medal taken from the dead body of our grandfather,” said Amaha Kassa, Desta’s grandson. His granddaughter, Laly Kassa, condemned the auction as “completely unacceptable,” emphasizing the importance of returning the artifact to an Ethiopian museum.
Efforts to halt the sale were led by lawyer Christopher Marinello of Art Recovery International and Ethiopia’s Heritage Authority. Despite requests to withdraw the medal, the auction house refused, citing its clear provenance. They offered to sell it back to the family for €61,595, a demand Marinello called “outrageous” for an item with colonial-era ties.
Ethiopia has long struggled to reclaim artifacts looted during the war and subsequent Italian occupation. The case has reignited calls for accountability in addressing colonial plunder, as the medal’s listing underscores the lingering wounds of cultural theft. The family and Ethiopian authorities continue their efforts to recover this invaluable piece of history.
