Déjatch Alámayou, King Theodore's Son

Julia Margaret Cameron British, born India

July 1868

Not on view

Déjatch Alámayou was taken to England after the British defeat of the Ethiopians at the battle of Magdala and the suicide of his father, Tewodros (Theodore) II, emperor of Ethiopia, in April 1868. Queen Victoria took an interest in Alámayou and saw to his education and protection, placing him in the care of Captain Tristram Speedy, who, like Cameron, had a home on the Isle of Wight. Speedy brought the child to Cameron’s house shortly after his arrival in England, and Cameron made ten photographs of the captain and his charge posed among Ethiopian exotica. In this image, the young orphaned prince cradles a little white doll and stares sadly into space, seemingly lost in thought. His name, Alámayou, means “I have seen the world.”

Artwork Details

Title: Déjatch Alámayou, King Theodore's Son
Artist: Julia Margaret Cameron (British (born India), Calcutta 1815–1879 Kalutara, Ceylon)
Date: July 1868
Medium: Albumen silver print from glass negative
Dimensions: Image: 29.2 x 23.3 cm (11 1/2 x 9 3/16 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005
Object Number: 2005.100.239
Curatorial Department: Photographs

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