Ethiopia
The principal crowns worn by Ethiopian emperors and empresses regnant are unique in that they are made to be worn over a turban. They usually have the form of a cylinder of gold (although some of the crowns at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum have the form of a gold cube) with a convex dome on the top with usually some form of cross on a pedestal. These gold cylinders/cubes are composed of openwork, filigree, medallions with images of saints in repousse and settings of precious stones. Fringes of small gold cones on short gold chains are also frequently used in the decoration of these crowns, both on the cylinders/cubes themselves and on the pedestal supporting the cross on the top. Also, convex circular gold medallions/disks of openwork or filigree hanging from chains over the ears are also frequently found on these crowns as well, much like the ornaments that formerly hung from sides of the Byzantine imperial crowns and which hang from the sides and back of the Holy Crown of St. Stephan of Hungary. Some crowns also appear to have a semi-circular platform for additional ornaments attached to the lower front edge of the crown (on two of the crowns of Menelik II these platforms each support a small gold statuette of St. George fighting the dragon). For a photograph of one of Menelik II's crowns; a photograph of Haile Selassie wearing his imperial crown.
Other parts of the Ethiopian regalia include, a jeweled gold sword, a gold and ivory sceptre, a large gold orb with cross, a diamond studded ring, two gold filigreed lances of traditional Ethiopian form, long scarlet robes heavily embroidered in gold. Each of these seven ornaments is given to the emperor after each of his seven anointing on his head, brow and shoulders with seven differently scented holy oils, the last being the crown itself.
These imperial robes consist of a number of tunics and cloaks, of scarlet cloth heavy embroidered in gold and including an elbow length cape with a deeply scalloped edge, fringed in gold (the scallops on either side of the opening on the front being particularly long, giving them the appearance of a western priest's stole) and two large squares of scarlet cloth similarly heavily embroidered and fringed in gold attached to each shoulder. This cape is apparently identical in form to that also worn by the Patriarch and other higher-ranking members of the Ethiopian clergy.
The empress consort also is crowned and given a ring at her at her husband's coronation, although formerly this took place at a semi-public court ceremony three days after the emperor's coronation. Her scarlet imperial mantle has a very similar shape and ornamentation as that of the emperor, but lacking the scalloped edge and shoulder squares. The crowns of empress consorts took a variety of different forms; that of Empress Menen was modeled on the traditional form of European sovereign's crown. Other members of the imperial family and high ranking Ethiopian princes and nobles also had crowns, some resembling the coronets worn by the members of the British peerage at a British coronation, while others have uniquely Ethiopian forms.
Traditionally Ethiopian emperors were crowned at the Church of Our Lady Mary of Zion in Axum, the site of the chapel in which is kept what is believed to be the Ark of the Covenant, in order to validate the new emperor's legitimacy by reinforcing his claim to descent from Menelik I, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, who is believed to have brought the Ark from Jerusalem to Axum. Their imperial crowns were afterwards frequently donated to the church and are kept in the church's treasury — medieval crowns and those of more recent monarchs - although other monarchs have given their crowns and other regalia to various other churches. The Crown Jewels used at the coronation of Emperor Haile Selassie are kept at the museum in the National Palace (formerly the Jubilee Palace) in Addis Ababa.
Read more about this topic: Crown Jewels, Africa