A UK auction house has cancelled the sale of a shield looted from Ethiopia by British soldiers in the 19th Century. The move came after a complaint from the Ethiopian government..

The artefact was taken during the battle of Magdala in 1868 from what was then known as Abyssinia.

The auction at Anderson & Garland had been scheduled to take place on Thursday in the north-east English city of Newcastle.

“After careful consideration, we’ve taken the decision to withdraw this lot from tomorrow’s auction and have referred the matter back to our vendor for their consideration,” a spokeswoman for Anderson & Garland told the British newspaper the Voice.

In a statement to the Reuters news agency, the Ethiopian government said the cancellation of the auction was a “wise decision” and hoped this will lead to a “repatriation process”.

The auction house has not specified whether this withdrawal is linked to any requests from the Ethiopian government which has asked for stolen artefacts be returned.

Prior to the sale, the Ethiopian authorities called the auction of the shield “inappropriate and immoral”.

Ethiopia has asked Britain to return numerous items taken during the colonial era.

Last year a lock of hair from a young Ethiopian prince, who died 140 years ago, was returned to his home country.

The prince is buried at Windsor Castle near London, but requests for his body to be returned have been turned down.