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A total of Twelve cultural objects were officially restored to Ethiopia following being kept by a family in Germany for over 100 years.

The treasures, initially acquired in the 1920s by the German diplomat to the Ethiopian empire a German envoy and his wife Hedwig, were handed over on midweek to the research center at Addis Ababa University.

This collection included crowns, protective shields and canvases, all considered as culturally valuable in the country.

"The treasures still represent a emblem of the enduring and amicable ties between the German nation and Ethiopia," remarked Germany's envoy, the representative to the East African country.

Dr. Ramon Wyss, whose parent was delivered during the family's service in the nation, delivered the items at a gathering joined by the Minister of Tourism Selamawit Kassa.

He explained that the family's aim to give back the items was to "display their splendor with the people and maintain the heritage and past tied to my father's beginning."

These artefacts were either donations or buys, as stated by the household.

"I want to express gratitude to Professor Weiss's relatives for actively expressing their profound love for the nation by meticulously maintaining these treasures and crucially securing their homecoming to their proper country," said the tourism minister.

The minister continued that the artefacts would in the near future be opened to the general audience for study and educational purposes, terming the decision a landmark in preserving the nation's national treasures.

"Efforts will continue to repatriate old objects that are found in the possession of private persons and entities around the planet," she stated.

During colonial rule in Africa, thousands of cultural items were plundered.

The call by nations in Africa for the restoration of stolen objects has been met with certain positive outcomes in the past few years - although several artefacts are merely on short-term display.

In two years ago, the German government was the pioneering nation to repatriate a portion of the well-known historical items to the West African nation as part of an effort to confront its "troubled colonial history."

Connected Subjects

• Cultural Return Efforts in the Continent
• This Impact of Imperial Past on Contemporary Ethiopian Heritage
• International Movements for the Return of Looted Artefacts