"It's literally a medal taken from the dead body of our grandfather," says Amaha Kassa, Desta's grandson, who lives in the United States. Reading the catalogue entry "made our blood boil," he says.
Laly Kassa, Desta's US-based granddaughter, says "the world needs to know that keeping the spoils from these times will not go unnoticed, and even more, that to hype up this provenance for a profit is completely unacceptable".
Desta Damtew was described in his obituary in The Times on 27 February, 1937, as 'the most able of the great Ethiopian Rases,' or military commanders, and 'a favourite of the emperor Haile Selassie'.
The Italian force looted countless objects and artefacts during their campaign, an act that continues to provoke outrage regarding the rightful ownership of historical items.
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