A gadrooned salver from the collection of the Emperor of Abyssinia

Date: 1721–1750

Epoque: Oporto assay-mark for João do Couto de Azevedo (1703–1768) Goldsmith mark mf for Manuel Soares Ferreira

Origine: Portugal

Medium: Portuguese silver

Signature: Inscribed: ‘This silver dish was sold by H.M. the Emperor of Abyssinia in London Anno Domini 1936’ on the reverse.

Dimension: 32.5 cm (12³/₄ inches)

Provenance:

Haile Selassie collection, Ethiopia; private collection, Portugal.

Both these historical salvers feature identical radial inscriptions to the underside of the central medallion, stating that "This silver dish was sold by H.M. the Emperor of Abyssinia in London Anno Domini 1936", thus revealing one of their former owners.

Dating from the first half of the 18th century, they embody the long relationship between Portugal and the ancient Reign of Abyssinia, which was established from the earliest contact with its territory, in the 16th century, by the Portuguese explorer Pero da Covilhã, in his quest for the Christian kingdom of the mythical Prester John.[1]

Haile Selassie I (1892-1975) was Emperor of Abyssinia from 1930 to 1974. In the 1930s the country was a target for the renewed Imperial endeavours by the then Kingdom of Italy, being eventually invaded in 1935 by Benito Mussolini’s troops. Forced into exile, Selassie I spent four years in the United Kingdom, residing in Fairfield House (1936-1941), in Bath, a property which he donated to the city on his return to Abyssinia. His celebrated speech to the League of Nations, on the subject of his country’s invasion, converted him into an antifascist icon, chosen by Time Magazine to be 1936 Man of the Year.[2]

In that same year, the emperor consigned his English and foreign silver collection, formerly housed in his palace at Harar, to the London auctioneers Puttick & Simpson’s, to be sold off at auction in their premises at the Reynolds Galleries, 47 Leicester Square. Founded by James Fletcher in 1794, the firm would be acquired by Thomas Puttick and William Simpson in 1846, eventually settling at the mentioned address between 1859 and 1937.[3]

Although the purpose of the sale was widely known to be an urgent need for cash flow, it was officially reported to be the lack of a suitable storage location. The collection was eventually auctioned four days before Christmas 1936, raising a total of over £2.530 pounds sterling.[4]

The unequivocal link of these salvers to Emperor Haile Selassie is evidence to the presence of Portuguese civil silverware in the Ethiopian royal collection, and a testimony to the remarkability that justified their collecting and safeguarding.