Imperial Ethiopian awards are fascinating. The tasty tidbit below is superbly made-of a weaving, hand-made quality that hasn't been seen in Europe since Disraeli was prime Minister. Each thread on this ribbon bar is INDIVIDUALLY wrapped tight around the bar and tied off in sequence and reinforced by a cotton backing. I have never seen anything quite like it. It's almost minty. The medals are the campaign medal for 1935-41, the exile refugees' medal,the British war medal and British Africa Star. The Ethiopian awards were promulgated in late 1944 and issued in 1945 to standing troops under command of the God-Emperor, Hailee Selassie. Given the quality of the piece, this was almost certainly worn by a very tough man from a warrior, aristocratic family. If I had to bet money, the son of a Ras-or "Duke". Notable is the lack of any Orders or bravery medals, which were commonly handed out to senior (as in age and social status:it was a cultural aspect of Ethiopian society at the time) commanders and persons who had done particularly exceptional acts of bravery/merit. In studying the chaos that was the Italian-Ethiopian war, it is clear that many of these young men fought wars that would have made Rider Haggard's hair stand on end. It is not uncommon to read of ambushes of Italian patrols lead by young clan chiefs wearing 400 year old chain-mail and lion robes, brandishing scimitars and Lee Enfields and closing in at a run down rocky defiles as the Italians fired away with machine guns. It was somewhat akin to Scottish Highlanders, in full cry and almost inevitably, if the ground was well chosen, the Ethiopians got in amongst the Italian firing line and hand-to-hand combat ensued unlike anything seen in the West since Edgehill or Prestonpans. Italians memoirs are replete with the horror that these encounters: "Carlos' head was split in half by an screaming (racist term), like a ripe tomato. Then he cut Paulo in half -sideways. They were wearing black armour, white trousers and had bare feet. I ran away as fast as I could" to paraphrase one Italian account. The Anglo-Ethiopian army spent the years 1941-44 eliminating the Italian remnants in the Empire (inc. Eritrea) and harassing Vichy forces in Djibouti. After 1944 the imperial army spent its time eliminating bandits and competing local Rasta's militias (some of whom had collaborated with the Italians). They consolidated imperial power around the throne and began the painful process of modernization of what had been a medieval society, complete with fiefs, slaves, feudal courts, Monastic power and feudal Lords warring amongst each other. This ribbon represents that era of imperial political consolidation.