IRISH WOMAN HANDS ZULU OBJECTS TO SA EMBASSY
A woman from Limerick has handed over 19th-century objects originally owned by the Zulu kingdom in South Africa.
Isabella Walsh’s late father, Larry was an archaeologist and curator of the Limerick Museum. He had a keen interest in African and Aboriginal cultures while he worked at the museum for 25 years.
Isabella said her father attended an auction in Ireland several years ago to look for items that he could buy for the museum. On the day, he bought a spear and harpoon heads, a shield and wooden clubs for his personal collection at home.
The Irish Examiner reports that while he enjoyed living with his collection, it was important to Mr Walsh to know that they would be returned to their cultural origins and hopefully be housed in the national museums following his passing.
Isabella wanted to fulfil her late father’s wish and through a series of events met up with a historian who had a history of repatriating items.
Through Doctor Christos Tsirogiannis, Isabella made contact with the South African embassy in Dublin.
Isabella said the South African embassy remarked that it was “a lovely gesture” for the Walsh family to seek the return of these special artefacts.
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