In a battle for historical justice, the descendants of Ras Desta Damtew, a celebrated hero of Ethiopia’s resistance against European imperialism, are on a mission to retrieve a priceless family heirloom—a solid gold medal stripped from their ancestor by invading Italian troops nearly a century ago.
Damtew, a son-in-law of Emperor Haile Selassie and commander of Ethiopia’s guerrilla forces, was captured and executed by the Italians in 1937, marking a tragic turning point in the nation’s struggle against fascist occupation. The whereabouts of his Imperial Order of the Star of Ethiopia medal remained a mystery for decades.
That is, until November 2024, when the star-shaped brooch resurfaced in a most unexpected place—the online auction platform LiveAuctioneers. Listed by Swiss company La Galerie Numismatique with a starting price of €60,000, the medal’s contentious origins were laid bare in the item description:
“[The medal] comes from the estate of an Italian soldier who was present at the capture of the prince [Desta Damtew].”
—LiveAuctioneers listing
A Family’s Fury Ignites a Fight for Justice
For Damtew’s granddaughter Laly Kassa, the audacious listing was a call to action: “My first feeling was anger that they were so blatantly claiming to have taken it from someone who was executed,” she recounted. “This one was so egregious that we just felt like as a family, we had to prove something.”
The family’s initial restitution request was swiftly rebuffed by La Galerie Numismatique, who instead offered to sell the medal back to them for over €61,000. But when the December auction failed to attract any bids meeting the reserve price, a glimmer of hope emerged—the brooch’s current owner, a British collector in Spain, agreed to enter direct negotiations with the family’s legal counsel.
Damtew’s Defiance: A Symbol of African Resistance
While Emperor Selassie sought refuge in England, Ras Desta Damtew valiantly led the resistance against Mussolini’s forces in a doomed last stand. Scholars argue that the looting of his medal is directly tied to a horrific war crime—Damtew’s execution as a prisoner of war following his capture in 1937.
“The medal was thus obtained by an agent of the fascist regime who was directly involved in this war crime, amid a broader counterinsurgency that involved mass killings, sexual violence, torture, and arbitrary detention,” asserted historian James De Lorenzi. “Given this provenance, returning the medal to Ethiopia is the only responsible choice.”
The Long Shadow of Italian Occupation
While the 1947 Paris Peace Treaties obligated Italy to repatriate looted Ethiopian heritage within 18 months, many treasures remain scattered in Italian collections to this day. The Damtew family’s campaign shines a harsh light on this unresolved legacy.
Laly Kassa is adamant that, if recovered, her grandfather’s medal will not languish in private hands but take its rightful place in Ethiopia’s National Museum—a stirring tribute to an icon of anti-colonial resistance, and a powerful symbol of a nation’s enduring quest to reclaim its stolen history.
