Ethiopian 18th-century crown hidden for 21 years in Dutch flat to be returnedEthiopian 18th-century crown hidden for 21 years in Dutch flat to be returnedThe crown is being stored in a high security facility in the NetherlandsAn Ethiopian crown from the 18th century is to be returned to its home country after being hidden in a flat in the Netherlands for 21 years. Ethiopian Sirak Asfaw fled to the Dutch port city of Rotterdam as a political refugee in the late 1970s and discovered the crown in a visitor's suitcase. "I knew it had something to do with Ethiopian history, the Ethiopian kingdom. After Ethiopia installed a new prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, last year, Mr Asfaw decided that it was time to try to return the crown. He contacted independent Dutch art crimes investigator Arthur Brand - known as the "Indiana Jones of the art world" - who placed the crown in a high-security art facility in the Netherlands and alerted the Dutch police.

Source: Ethiopian News October 04, 2019 11:03 UTC